Linked
by Mr. Ree and Mr. Meenor
Summary: It happened too fast. One second, Lavi was charging at the Noah, and the next second... He was thrown and disappeared. No one knows what happened to him. Allen, missing his friend, is more than determined to get his friend back... no matter what.
1. Lost

This was an idea that I have been playing around with for a while, possibly a good one, but then again, I have not a clue. So let's try it! Hello, Kurokumo here, and I welcome you to yet another fan-fic written by me. I hope you do enjoy it! So! Let us commence forthwith with Chapter One of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

* * *

1. Lost

The sky, if it were at all possible, was bleeding. It was covered with stains that should not have been there. It should not have been like that. It was stained with innocent blood, one that was reflected off the pools of water that were darkened by the thick clouds of worry and doubt. Something was terribly wrong. In the murkiness of the water that surrounded him, it was more than obvious to him that something was far more than just 'terribly wrong'. In the heat that was fading from summer blaze because of those bleeding clouds, he had lost one of his friends, and they were no where to be found. He tripped over his own feet and landed face first into the dark water. Coughing, gagging, he pulled himself up again and continued to run towards the next vacant space and the one after it. He felt as if he had been running for days when it had only been ten minutes.

_Please, God. Please tell me it isn't true._

They had fought a losing battle up against the Noah, and one was tossed carelessly aside like a chew toy that belonged to a dog. And now he was lost. And Allen didn't know what to make of it aside from trying to find him. Lenalee had went on ahead to search by air to see if she saw the lost Exorcist, but so far, there was no sign that she had seen him. It was incredible, really. The amount of strength that one Noah member had-- He had picked up Ōzuchi Kozuchi as if it were nothing but a stone and _threw_ him. Threw him _hard. _And then he was gone, just like that. Not one of them saw where he had landed.

He tripped again out of him running in desperation, but this time on a patch of the bog ground, and picked himself up once more. It was literally covered in nothing but wetland, and the chances of Lavi landing in a pool of water while being knocked out were extremely high. All Allen had to cling onto was hope and the many prayers that were forming in his head, and nothing else. What were the chances? He swallowed down the fear that was trying to cling to him and stopped running, taking in several deep breathes. He was tired, exhausted, and the wound on his left shoulder was not doing him any good. He couldn't help but to stop. But he didn't want to. He couldn't, not now. Even if his breathing became ragged, even if his body wore out on him, he had to find Lavi.

He just had to.

"_LAVI!" _he yelled, staggering a few more steps ahead. The yell was loud, clear, but nothing responded but a murder of crows flying from where they were resting. His lower lip began trembling as his hands clasped around his mouth. _"LAVI! WHERE ARE YOU?!"_

When nothing but silence came to greet him, he sank to his knees, burying his head in his hands. Lavi was gone. There was no doubt about it. He couldn't find him anywhere. The crows called once more as Lenalee came from the sky and landed with ease next to him, eyebrows furrowed into an expression of sadness and empathy. The rain began to start coming in buckets, the sky gone from the colour of grey to red in his eyes, which were blurred by the many thoughts rushing through his head. What would they tell Bookman, Kanda, and the others? Lavi had been close to all of them, no doubt, and…

"_LAAVVVIIIIIIII!"_

"Allen-kun, stop it," Lenalee said, her voice sounding a little broken. "We can't find him anywhere. We tried. We need to go back to the Order and…" she paused, swallowing as if she couldn't bare the truth herself. "…and report what has happened. There is nothing else we can do. Come on, Allen-kun."

"I can't! Lavi's-- He's-- There has got to be a way!" Allen moved his shoulder away from Lenalee's hand. "Anything! There has to be something! We can find him, I know we can, if we just persist a little longer--"

"--and kill yourself while doing that?!" Lenalee interrupted, anger and sadness making her voice sound louder than just typical yelling. "Would Lavi want that?! Look at your shoulder, for God sake's! Would a friend really want another friend to be pushing himself to the extreme and nearly dying for his sake?!" She stood up, turning away from view. Something glistened as it fell off of her cheek. Lenalee was crying. "Lavi, of all people, wouldn't want that, and you know it! He would probably want us to get home safe, and here you are, telling me that if… If we… Oh…" she fell to her knees, sobs wracking her shoulder and her entire body. Allen looked at her helplessly, unable to try to comfort her. He was unable to do that to himself, so how could he expect to give her some? The rain lessened a little bit as he tried to find words to say, to wipe that expression off of her face, but couldn't.

"Lenalee…" he whispered, then cast a look down at the earth and the forming puddles beneath his knees. He wished for all of his life that Lavi were actually alive and was looking for them right now. He wished that, but no matter he tried to reassure himself, he couldn't think that his wish would come true. "…Lavi…"

Somewhere in the far distance, the murder of crows cried once more, their raspy tenors not reaching their ears. The rain had restored itself to its former viciousness. The sky was bleeding once more, and he didn't care. He had failed another person, and this time, it was one of his closer friends.

_Please… If you are alive, Lavi… Just… hang on… I'll find you._

He stared at his own reflection in the pool of water that was growing larger, liking that thought that was dancing in his head. He would come back here and look for Lavi. His hand tightened into a fist, looking up at the seemingly-endless bog but saw nothing but his friend's face.

_I'll find you._

"Allen-kun," Lenalee had stood up without him even noticing. "Allen-kun, we should start heading back, or else we're going to get lost in this bog…"

He paused, his weak knees trying to tell him to stay down, but he knew better. He stood up slowly, his eyes blank and distant, and turned towards Lenalee. Masked by the rain, he was crying quietly. He knew that she would be able to tell, but he didn't care. He started to walk ahead of her as she just watched for a moment. He stopped, turned back once more, gritting his teeth. "I'll find you," he repeated in a breathless whisper, and started to walk again.

_Allen-kun is putting on a tough face… Oh… _She looked back as she followed him quietly, her face still stuck in that expression of sadness. _Please, Lavi. Tell me you are following us unknowingly… Tell me you're okay…_

* * *

He felt broken. Not only could he not move his legs, but he couldn't see a thing. Every nerve of his body felt as if it had been torn apart by an axe and was left to bleed out in any form possible. He didn't know when he had woken up. He didn't know how much time had passed. He did know, however, that he was in pain, and that he was separated from Allen and Lenalee. He could hear the rain and the faint rumble of thunder in the clouds, but he couldn't hear their voices. He wanted to get up and walk, but his legs were not budging a bit. Gasping, he tried to at least sit up without success. He couldn't believe it. That guy had picked up Ōzuchi Kozuchi and threw him.

_How am I not dead?_

He was cold and wet. He did just want to die. It was the only way out of the situation he was in. And he probably was going to, anyways, given the way he felt. There were no voices he could hear, and no one would want to live in a bog-area. He was done for. Wincing, he took in another ragged breath, applying pressure to his left side. It felt warm, felt wet. Blood. He cursed quietly as he tried to sink back into the unconscious state he had been in before he realized what was going on. Pain didn't allow it, though. He gave up, then tried to call his friends name. All but a whisper came out of his throat.

"Allen… Lenalee.. Guys…" he managed before something salty with a hint of copper filled his throat. He had punctured a lung, possibly both. He was a goner.

His right hand tightened a tiny bit around the handle of his hammer. He was surprised it had not broken. All he wanted was to go back to the Order and see everyone again, for at least one more time. But Death did not give exceptions, especially to him, and he knew that. He swallowed with great difficulty and sighed.

_Just take me now. I don't wanna deal with this._

The world slipped past him as his eyes unknowingly closed. A few voices that were unfamiliar to him yelled loudly, but they were probably just illusions, mirages of people he did not know nor care about. Everything fell quiet to him, fell dark to him, tasted salty to him. The world became Death's domain.

He passed out.

It stayed like that for several minutes or several hours, he could not tell. He was just happy that he couldn't feel anything, that he was in a state of that close to sleep. He sighed, a bit too relaxed for the situation he was in. But pretty soon, voices started to reach his ears. They were not happy voices, they were desperate voices. He could imagine Allen and Lenalee calling out for him, trying to find him, and he could do nothing but lie there and practically be dead. That thought saddened him more than anything. They were so close, and yet, they were so far away.

_Don't come to find me. I don't want you guys to see me like this._

He was starting to feel again, the sounds around him starting to grow louder. It was those voices from earlier, only there were more this time. They were barely audible at first, but as they seemed to come closer the voices grew louder. He didn't like them. They sounded warm and friendly, like a family would have towards one another. He was in a state of death. For a family to view something like this, it was… He couldn't find the word for it.

"_Ma! There his is, the man I saw fall from the sky earlier!"_

_Who?_

"_Quickly, get him to the house! We have no time to lose. This man has punctured a lung. Grab that hammer, will you, Carroll? Come on!"_

_What… Leave me be… I'm dead…_

"…_eyes are severely damaged, too… … …can fix them… …"_

_I don't…_

"…_try…"_

…_I…_

* * *

Too short of a chapter, I know, I'm sorry. This is just a basic introduction of what is going on… It'll be longer for the next chapter, promise. So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! I'll see you all in two! --K.S.


	2. Rising Angel, Fallen Angel

Frigging eh. I need to stop creating new stories and then stopping for long periods of time and leaving my fans dangling. Hi, welcome to Chapter 2 of 'Linked'! Sorry for the absence. It took a fan (I'm talking to you, Muffin Stealer) to get me motivated for this again. So! With that said, let us commence forthwith with Chapter 2 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

* * *

2. Rising Angel, Fallen Angel

It had been several hours since they left that swampy area. They had arrived from the dockng area from where they took a boat back to England to the train station. It had been silent all the way there.

Allen's head was pressed up against the window. Lenalee had long-since left to find food for herself, but he was betting that she was probably giving him some space. Or rather, she was giving herself some space. Which ever the case may be, it didn't change the situation at hand at all. He felt like an idiot. He shouldn't of have left. He wanted to go back more than anything, but after what they had told Komui, he told them to come home.

"_We need to discuss this issue in person," _he said. _"This is not something that can be discussed over the phone, if you know what I mean. And I want to see you two safe. I don't want you to go missing as well."_

Still, he couldn't care less about his own health. He could guarantee that Lenalee felt the same way. The poor girl hadn't stopped crying since they got onto the train and into their compartment. A groan escaped his lips and stomach, but he did not heed to the call for food. He would rather starve than eat while knowing that he left Lavi back there.

_I had no choice, though. _He tried to convince himself. _Even Lenalee said to go back to the Headquarters without him. But… what if he's still out there, hurt and bleeding and broken and wondering where we are?_ His eyes gazed out the window as a more urban setting began to sink into view. He hated that. He whacked his head off the back of the wall, sighing heavily. _I wish I never left…_

The train came to a stop at another station. People exited and entered the train, the sound of bustling going on outside the door from where he was sitting. He could hear Lenalee saying, "Excuse me" or "Sorry" as she made her way to the compartment. The door swung open as she smiled faintly at him, her eyes just as swollen as before. Her fingers trembled lightly as she closed the door again, muffling the sounds of the other voices from the passengers. The silence was overwhelming.

"Uhm…" Lenalee began, then stopped, as if trying to find a word, then started again as Allen figured she wouldn't. "I… I didn't mean to snap at you when Lavi went missing, Allen-kun. I really didn't." She paused again. "I don't know what came over me. I think I was stressed out… Or maybe just worried." Her eyes shifted around the room. She did that whenever she didn't know what to do or how to say something. "Can you forgive me for that?"

Allen nodded once and smiled, but it was so half-hearted that it didn't even reach his eyes. "Yes, of course." He immediately returned to gazing out the window afterwards, his fingers curling up into fists. He had to keep himself distracted, or else he would jump out the window and run back to where they were before this mess occurred. Lenalee bit her lower lip.

"Allen-kun… I'm really sorry," she said, tears welling up in her eyes again. "I-I know what you're thinking, and usually, I would say 'go for it', but… When he was thrown, I… When everything happened, I thought… I thought you would be gone, too." She stared hard into his eyes, despite the fact that they were blurring up. "I didn't want you to go after him because I couldn't lose both of you at once…" She started to break down into sobs. "…but now you're miserable…"

He didn't respond to that. He kept his eyes fixed on the blurred scenery, the fast motions of the train making grass and rocks and dirt turn into nothing but a grey with green tints mess. He blinked, a wet substance rolling down his cheek as he swallowed down his agony. Lenalee watched him try to hold himself together-- she figured that he was doing it because he didn't want to worry her, as usual --and for that she couldn't do anything for him at that moment. She couldn't even hug him.

_Oh, Allen-kun… _she thought, though it barely managed to echo inside her own head.

A few more minutes passed as the train stopped once more at another station. Allen's dark frown deepened as he just wanted to get home and yell at Komui and beg him to give him another mission in Poland or wherever the hell they just were and find the idiot redheaded-hero before he ate. He knew not eating was stupid, but he swore secretly to himself that he would not eat so long as Lavi was missing.

Selfish, he knew. And very stupid and dangerous. But he would just throw it back up again from all the worry imposed, so he didn't see the point in it.

Timcanpy flew out from his jacket, the little golden wings buzzing around his head as it flew in circles. Allen caught it by its tail and threw him across the compartment out of annoyance. The little golem hit the wall and landed in the seat, pausing and knowing that it should not stand back up so long as his master was in this bad of a mood.

_I wish the Tyki I met on the train were here. _Allen thought absentmindedly as his hand shuffled through his bag and found a deck of cards. _I would distract myself by playing poker and earning money…_

His eyelids sunk a little as his tiredness began to sink in, his mind growing tired from spinning theories about what could have happened to Lavi. He sighed, allowing himself to relax into the state of sleep he had been so deprived of before.

_Lavi… Lavi… stay alive._

* * *

"…en-kun!"

He snapped back into focus due to Lenalee's constant poking and eventually whacking on the head. "Allen-kun, wake up! We're at our stop!"

"Wuh?" He rubbed his eyes. He felt like he got all of five seconds of sleep. His back throbbed in pain due to the position he was previously in. He grabbed his bag while yawning and followed Lenalee off of the train, trying to maneuver his way around the huge crowd that was forming. He wondered for a split-second why there were so many people around, but it was probably because of a festival of some sort. He really didn't care about festivals that much right at that moment. His movements were sluggish as he tried to keep up with Lenalee, but was totally failing. She disappeared into the crowd.

"Lenalee? Lenalee, wait up!" he yelled, but the crowd began moving in one direction while he was going in the other. He saw her turning towards him as he looked back at the train, her eyes apologetic as the crowd began to take him away. Was she planning to go back there herself? "Lenalee! Lenalee, don't go by yourself, wait--" he was cut off as he lost his footing and fell in the crowd. People could not stop moving to allow him to get up as he got trampled.

"Lenalee!"

He pushed himself up from the ground when there was the opportunity and noticed that the train to go to Norway was gone. He looked around desperately for his comrade to see that, with the train, she was gone, too. She had left without him

Lenalee's head rested up against the window as the train moved quickly through the towns. She bit her lower lip. "I'm so sorry, Allen-kun, but I have to do this…"

* * *

He had tried to ask every train station if there was another train to the docking bay, and every answer was the same-- "No, sorry. The one that leads to the docking bay has already left for the time being. Try coming back tomorrow, okay?"

Disgruntled, mad at himself, and tired, he walked through the crowd that was gathering around for a festival. He did not allow his eyes to wander anywhere in particular, just at the ground that was covered with rocks and twigs and the occasional patch of grass. He headed towards the Black Order, and finally, after several more minutes, he had arrived to the Gate. He didn't have a clue what he was going to tell Komui.

"_So, where's Lenalee?" _he would ask right off the bat.

"_Sorry, Komui, but I kind of let her slip past my vision and she went back to Norway in order to find Lavi," _he would answer. _"She left me behind. I tried to tail after her, but…"_

He knew that Komui wouldn't hear him past the fact that he had let her get away from him even though they had specific orders to head back to Headquarters. He groaned quietly as he entered through the gates, his eyes weary of everything around him. The Science Department greeted him back, as per usual, in such a friendly manner, but he really didn't pay any attention to them.

"What's gotten into Allen?" Johnny asked, putting a stack of papers onto another desk.

"Don't know," Reever responded, also a little confused.

Allen knew. He lost Lavi. He let Lenalee go when he could have been able to stop her. He pushed open the doors to Komui's room and immediately frowned when he saw Link standing there with an annoyed look upon his face. Luckily, Leverrier wasn't there to make his mood even worse than it actually was. Komui smiled faintly at him, then looked around him, a confused look forming upon his face. "Where's Lenalee?"

The British Exorcist opened his mouth, about to answer, when Komui put up his hand with a small, sad smile on his face. "She went back after Lavi, didn't she?"

A pause, then a hesitant nod. Komui reclined back into his seat, shaking his head and sighing. "I should have known," he said. "Lenalee is always worried about her friends. She would have been absolutely miserable if she stayed here. But still…" His gaze vacantly looked over to the pile of papers that was the major source of the mess within the room, "…it would have been nice if she stopped by and said 'hello' to me. And maybe even give me a cup of coffee."

Allen smiled a little at that.

"Well," Komui sat up straight, filing through his papers and looking at a folder before taking another sip of his coffee. "Allen, I recommend you stay here for a few days and recover…" He noticed the anger mark that formed on the boy's face and the mouth opening about to protest. Komui put up his hand. "…but I know you. You'll probably will want to leave as soon as possible back to Norway. Luckily for you, there has been rumors of something mysterious happening there…" He glanced at Inspector Link and nodded. "…so you, Link, and Kanda--" Allen's lip twitched at the sound of Kanda's name "--will embark there for your next mission tomorrow morning. Does that sound good to you?"

He nodded reluctantly. Of course he wasn't fine with it. He wanted to leave now. Two of his best friends are out there, one missing, one possibly heading into a trap, and here he was, standing in front of Komui, contemplating the situation. He tried to keep his emotions in check as he swallowed hard. "…Yes, that sounds… good."

"Good," Komui replied. "Now, I bet you're hungry. Jerry has been waiting for you to come back so that he could feed you."

Allen felt a bead of sweat touch his forehead. Crap. He wasn't going to get away with not eating if Jerry was around. He groaned. Well, there went that plan… He nodded solemnly and left the room, closing the door behind him. Link was following him close behind, but Allen didn't even notice as he proceeded to the dining hall. Jerry immediately spotted him from the opposite side of the room and nearly squealed with delight.

"He's home!" he cried as Allen approached the window with disdain. "Sug, I'll make you something so good you won't even be able to comprehend what you just ate!"

"…That… sounds good, Jerry," he muttered as the pink-haired male went into the back and began cooking. He sighed lightly as he looked up to the ceiling.

_Lenalee, Lavi… _He thought as Link began talking to him. _I hope that you're at least safe… wherever you are._

* * *

Several hours had passed. The man was not waking up. His eyes scanned him once again, big and worried and wondering who he was. The man's hair was colored like fire-- A bright, bright red. He had never seen such a color like that in his life. Well, at least on someone's head. His feet swayed back and forth as he just stared at him. Staring was one of the few things he did well. He stared at people until he made them feel completely uncomfortable.

That was probably one of the reasons why he was such a loner. But he couldn't care less. He liked being alone. But this man, he looked so strange. He wanted to know what his name was, at the very least.

"_Carroll, don't be mistaken," _his father said. _"This boy could die. Don't get your hopes up."_

A pause suffocated the room. Carroll was certain, though, that the man would wake up. He looked like he was tough. He turned his attention to the table after a little while and grabbed a pen and a piece of paper, scribbling down words that he had recently learned. Even though he was eight, he was pretty intelligent.

"_DEAr Mr. God," _he wrote, _"PlEASe lEt this Mr. wAkE up. I poromiSE to be good if you lEt thiS Mr. livE._

_--Carroll"_

He had always remembered how to sign his own name. Everything else was irrelevant, but so long as he had his name, he had an identity, or so that was what he thought. He folded up the letter and walked down the stairs, which were heavy 'thud's every time he took a step. He didn't give a care for grace. He walked towards the fireplace, calm as anything, and tossed the letter into the fire without a second thought.

The message had to get to God, after all. In order for it to do that, it had to float up to the sky. And in order for it to do that, it had to be carried out with the smoke. Simple as that.

His footsteps-- thud, thud, thud --led him back to the room where the man laid. He was still breathing, which was a good thing. His mother and father told him to not touch him so long as they weren't there. His mother had gone and went to work in the cranberry fields that they had. His father had went to town to see if he could sell any of his homemade goods. His father had a knack for making top hats, especially.

He never liked top hats. They were too… top hatty. They weren't his type.

He continued to stare until the sound of thunder brought his attention to the window. Another summer storm. They were having a lot of those, lately. It was good for the cranberries, his mother would say, then smile and laugh. He didn't understand what was so funny about it.

His legs swung underneath him as a strike of lightning flashed before his eyes and a rumble of thunder echoed off, bouncing around the sky and causing the clouds to make noise. He didn't like the noise, but he refrained from running away to see the pretty lightning sparks raining down. His mother would have to come home soon.

The pen eventually wound up back in his hand again as he started to draw shapes. Shapes were his best friend. They were simple, easy, and not complicated. The man was complicated. He had fallen out of the sky. He paused, looking at the circles and squares he had drawn. _Fallen out of the sky. _Like that of an angel that betrayed God. His eyes wearily looked at the man, now curious if he was even human. Angels didn't feel pain, yet this one was bleeding.

A _Fallen Angel_-- The ones that betrayed God. His mind wracked with thoughts as he stared at the man heavily. If this man was an Angel… A Fallen Angel… And he was aiding him… His eyes grew wide with fear. He had become an Agent of the Devil! Terror struck him just as his mother came in through the door, water pooling around her boots. He didn't pay attention to the door. A cry uttered out of his mouth as he began to rock back and forth in his chair, covering his ears with his hands. He had betrayed God!

"Carroll, what on Earth are you doing?" his mother asked curiously as she came into the room. "Your face is all pale-- Do you feel sick?"

She knew better not to touch him. Carroll did not like being touched. "A Fallen one," he whispered, then started to utter cries like that of an insane person. "A Fallen one! A Fallen one! He who works with the _Devil_! Mama, Mama, we _have_ to get this Fallen one out of our house! He's a Fallen Angel!"

With that, he howled up towards the ceiling and sobbed into his hands, rocking back and forth. His mother, used to these tantrums, shook her head. "No, Carroll-- He is not a Fallen Angel. A Fallen Angel has wings. Look, see?" She rolled the man onto his stomach and pointed at his back. "This one has no wings, and there are no marks here saying that he did. You can relax, Carroll-- There are no Fallen Angels in this home."

Carroll was not reassured. He walked carefully towards the man, then gently touched the skin of his back. She was right, to his relief-- There were no extra joints that proved that he was a Fallen Angel. But the man had fallen from the sky-- He had seen it with his very own eyes. "An Agent for the Devil," he whispered once more, then continued to rock back in forth in his chair.

"Now, Carroll, you know better than to judge people before getting to know them. Who knows? This fellow may be very well decent in personality. You should let him wake up before you start with your wild ruckus again." She placed a bowl of water onto a side table, soaked it with water, and placed it onto the man's forehead.

"Yes, Mama."

"And promise me you won't call him a 'Fallen Angel' when he first wakes up."

"Yes, Mama."

"Good," she said, then took the bowl of water away with her as she left.

Carroll just stared at the man, his lips forming an expression of discontent. How could his mother leave an Agent of the Devil, here, in his very own house? The thought made him sick to his stomach, then rocked back and forth once more to calm himself down. He would have to take care of this problem himself.

Carefully, he tiptoed towards the kitchen as soon as his mother retreated to her room to fetch something. He didn't care what it was. He snuck in and grabbed the kitchen knife (it was very sharp, he could recall. The blade nearly cut off his fingers when he wasn't paying good enough attention.) and hid it in his sleeve. His mother came out, smiling, then went into the living room without saying a word.

He proceeded to his room quietly his eyes scanning back every so often as to make sure that his mother was not following him. When it was clear, he approached the man with that half-hate look of his, and rose the knife high above his head.

Agents of the Devil had to be exterminated. It was the rule.

His mother would just have to understand that.

It came down in a shining arc as he closed his eyes to not see what he was doing.

* * *

Cliff hanger ending! Woo-hoo, Chapter 2, done! Yes, before anyone asks, the kid does have a mental disability. So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor, and Chapter Three will come out a lot quicker, promise! --K.S.


	3. Anthem of the Blind

Wow! Four reviews and several favourites! You guys makes me feel so special! ^.^ For your reward, me updating faster! ^.^; (Jeez, Kurokumo, be anymore retarded, ah? .) Well, anyways. Thank you for reading it to this point (Three chapters. Wow.) and I hope you'll enjoy it! Let us commence forthwith with Chapter 3 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

* * *

3. Anthem of the Blind

_Oh, man, someone really screwed me over this time…_

_Wait. Where am I?_

His eyes scanned frantically around, calling the names of his friends, one by one. _Yuu-chan? Lenalee? Krorykins? _He couldn't see in the dark. It was so warm, and yet, there was no light nor any sight of as to where the heat was coming from. All he could possibly hear was his own voice, echoing and bouncing around in nothing but desolation. _Allen? _

_Where are all of you?_

"_Why do you keep looking for them, Lavi?" _His own person stood before him, grinning at him with lifeless eyes and standing in the body posture with the 'I don't care about anything so piss off' attitude. Oh. Lavi understood now. It was that dream, the one that he hated more than anything. He glared at him, or rather, himself.

_What do you want?_

"_Hah! The same thing as you. Or, so I thought." _His eyes shifted to the darkness. _"Don't you see, Lavi? Keep going down this way, and nothing but darkness will greet you. You're like me. You have no need for friends."_

_I fought you once, back in Rhode's world. So why don't you just go away?_

"_Last time, you had help from a friend. This time, you're all alone."_

_A friend…?_

…_Allen…_

His eyes snapped open, though there was nothing to be seen except the darkness that shaded his eyes. He could hear something coming down, so on instinct, he reached out and grabbed the arm of Carroll, which stopped the knife in mid-air. The boy's eyes opened to see the man was awake.

"Ah," he cried out, then backed away, dropping the knife to the floor. "Ah, ah, ah! Ah!"

"Carroll! What are you--" His mother came in and saw everything at once. The man whom they took in being awake, Carroll panicking, a knife stuck in the ground, and silence. Lavi didn't know what was going on. Where was he? Who the hell was Carroll? He moved his arm back down by his side, tired. Wherever he was, he didn't feel wet or cold anymore. "Young man, explain yourself!"

Carroll rocked back and forth on the floor, making groaning noises each time he rocked. His eyes were squeezed shut, his hands covering his ears. Lavi didn't like the sound of the groans. They were too loud. Everything was too loud. He had the worst headache in the world, and he also couldn't see a damned thing. The mother did not say a word as the little boy kept on rocking, then approached Lavi. "Sir, are you quite alright?"

The voice sounded okay. It didn't sound like she was about to kill him. He cleared his throat before he spoke, though his cracked lips began to bleed the moment after he began to speak. "I'm fine," he said. "Where… Where am I?"

"You are in Norway, sir," she replied. "My son, Carroll, found you out in the bog bleeding to death. We did everything we could to help you… But…" She trailed off. "You know one thing is wrong already, correct?"

He nodded. "I can't see."

"That's not the only thing, sir," she continued. Her fingers stretched out and cracked when they did as she touched his right arm. "Can you feel that?"

He shook his head. "What, are you touching me?"

"Your right arm, sir. It's paralyzed."

He took a moment to take in the given information. His right arm. Paralyzed. His face grew pale and words failed to come out of his mouth. His right arm, his writing arm, the arm he is so used to… is _paralyzed? _Granted, he could sort of write with his left, but he was a recorder of history! A man to know all the secrets in the world! Not some half-broken bloke that can't even tie his own shoes (even though he wore boots, not shoes, but that was besides the point). "P-Paralyzed?" he repeated. "Are you… sure?"

"Most indefinitely. My husband was a doctor before he became a shop vendor."

"Is there…" He tried not to let his voice strength waver, but it did anyways. "Is there any chance that either my eyesight or my arm will return to normal?"

"Highly unlikely. You'll probably be like this for the rest of your life."

_Rest of my life? Like this? _He tried to move his right arm, but he couldn't do it. _With my sight gone and my arm useless? I don't even deserve to be an Exorcist, let alone a goddamn Bookman! _He let a groan escape his lips. _I can't do the one thing I was trained to do. I may as well be dead. Curse them. Curse the goddamn Noah, I hope they go to--_

"Carroll!" The loud, sharp voice of the woman startled him out of his thought processes. "You apologize for trying to stab this man, right now!"

"Nuh-uh, Mama!" The boy rose to his feet, a glare evident amongst the several tears rolling down his cheeks. "He's one of them! One of them! One of them!"

The chant went on for a long time as the mother tried to shush him. Lavi was still in question of as to what 'one of them' implied, but he didn't bother to ask. Even when the woman raised her voice higher (which made Lavi cringe a little inside), the boy persisted with his chant.

"Carroll! If you do not stop right now, I'm going to--"

"_One of them!" _His voice reached an ungodly-sounding screech, followed by ceaseless screaming and shouting. The mother, having no other options left for her to calm the boy down, raised her hand and slapped him across the cheek.

_Something tells me that this family is not normal… _Lavi thought blankly as there seemed to be abrupt silence after the slapping-noise he had just heard. There was a bit of sobbing and scolding, then silence again after footsteps led out of wherever he was. _Definitely not normal. How the hell does that kid's mother put up with that? Is he psychotic or something?_

His left hand twitched as he forced himself to sit up. Judging by the scent, this house was cigar-free, a little damp and old, and someone was cooking something. Possibly stew. Food appealed to him greatly as his stomach rumbled, his tongue subconsciously running over his lips. Food. He was starving. He could remember being hungry during the fight with the Noah, too. Was that why he faltered so badly?

His thoughts stopped. If he were here, then where was his friends? Where was Lenalee and Allen? Were they here, too, or did they…?

"…swear, kids these days. Can't live with them, but can't live without them." The woman's voice came back into focus, a hint of annoyance in her tone. He heard her footsteps approach him then stop. "Sir, I never did catch your name. What was it again?"

_Poor memory, huh? I never even said my name_… He grinned on instinct before proclaiming, "Lavi."

"Lavi. What an odd name," she replied. "What caused you to be so injured?"

Oh, hell. Lavi paused at this question, his blind eyes blinking. How was he supposed to answer that question? It's not like they'd believe him. But what story would he have to explain it? Say that he went flying after he tried to attack a Noah with his hammer and landed awfully bad? Yeah, like that was going to sound sane. Lying was the only option out of this. "…I… can't remember," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "All I can recall is that I was walking one moment and the next, I was bleeding to death. Thank you… erm… for saving me."

She laughed. It was a hearty one. Something told Lavi that this woman was full of optimism. "It was the least we could do for an injured stranger! My name is Lilith, by the way, and my son's name is Carroll. I'm sorry about his behavior, he has been like that ever since he was born." Something clattered on a hard surface-- possibly a table? --and a sound of metal touching wood resonated in his ears. "Are you hungry?"

He nodded rapidly. The woman guided his hand to the spoon and so the bowl. "Are you okay with feeding yourself, or…?"

He nodded again. Food was what he needed right now. Nothing else mattered. He would be able to feed himself, no problem. She said not a word and left after there was a crash in a room aside from where they were. Lavi immediately began to eat.

_Uh? Ugh! _He coughed terribly at the food, hating the taste. _I-It's burnt! How could someone burn stew like this?! _He contemplated for a long time before sighing. He was hungry, and there was no other options aside from eating it or starve. _Oh, man, when I get back home, if they find me, I'm gonna ask Jerry to cook me something good._

He stopped shortly after he thought that. The spoon clattered back into the bowl as the woman's voice reached his ears. The words, however, that she was speaking did not register in his head. If. _If _they find him. Not when, not later, _if. _They had no clue where he was-- Hell, he had no clue where he was! He panicked slightly as cold sweat formed on his brow. There was a chance that he could be stuck there forever. There was also a chance of him running away blindly into the streets and starving to death. He didn't like either of those options.

_Shit. Shit! _He bit his lower lip. _Even if I do get back to the Order, they might reject me completely due to my status! And what of Panda? What will he do when he finds out I'm crippled_? His mouth went dry as he lost his appetite. _I'm beyond useless, I'm a fucking waste of space!_

"…an understatement, but hey." The woman was talking to him, but he didn't even know it. For a moment, he thought it was Deke.

_Shut up. Go away. Leave me alone…!_

"Sir? Are you quite alright?"

He snapped out of his thought processes and looked up. "H-Hunh?"

"I asked if you were alright."

He paused as a rumble of thunder echoed off in the distance, then nodded once. "Yes, I'm… fine."

_I'm going to have to be. I'm going to have to be, I already am, aren't I? _

_I'm alright. _

* * *

The morning could not have come any slower. He had sat there on his bed, staring at the seemingly endless dark, hoping the light would come. He was exhausted. He was worried out of his mind. Sleep would evade him yet another night.

Timcanpy's wings drooped at Allen's emotions. He was depressed, that was one way to put it. Not even the constant cheer of Lenalee could have helped him now. He would have just said or done something that would have hurt both of them in the long run. His eyes drooped once or twice, but he snapped them back open whenever he could catch himself. The sun broke up over the horizon line, but was quickly hidden by clouds. It was dawn.

Dawn. A wonderful time of day. It meant they were going to be leaving soon. He, Kanda, and Inspector Howard Link, heading to Norway, seeking to fellow members of the Black Order. Lenalee, and hopefully, Lavi. Regret came in tenfold at the thought of leaving him. It was the same regret every time. Yet there was nothing he could really do. What was done was done-- He couldn't change the past now. But he would make up for it, he knew that much. His eyes fluttered upward as he glanced at the window, determined more than ever.

"I'm going to find him," he said aloud. "I will find him!"

Timcanpy was startled at his exclamation, but shortly thereafter, the exhausted bean sprout toppled over into the covers and fell asleep faster than a daily turkey eater.

A few hours later, the annoyed man named Kanda Yuu approached his door. Mugen was drawn-- It was a waste to knock on the door of Moyashi. It took extra effort, and that would have meant Kanda cared about his property. Which was as true as him having a kindness streak. The sword raised high above his head and cut the wood in two, causing the two halves to crumble apart and fall to the floor. Allen sat up, startled.

"Che! Are you going to keep us waiting or not, Moyashi?! Hurry the hell up already!"

"It's Alle--"

"If I gave a damn about your name, I would have corrected myself a long, long time ago, you bean sprout." Kanda was in an indescribable annoyed mood. Typically, Kanda wouldn't waste words on someone like Allen, and Allen knew that, but today, he was talking a lot more than usual. "As I said earlier. Hurry. Up."

"I don't take orders from you, Ba-Kanda. I'll hurry up when I feel like it." _Which is fast, because I really want to help Lavi. Wait_… Allen rose an eyebrow. "Kanda, don't tell me that you're _worried _about Lavi, are yo--?"

The samurai sword was immediately pressed up against the British Exorcist's neck. "If you dare try to suggest that again, Moyashi, I'll kill you faster than a Level One Akuma."

With that, the man left without another word. Allen took in one shallow breath after another, afraid that if he breathed too loud that the man would end up killing him right on the spot. His eyes blinked once before he gathered his thoughts up together.

He grabbed his already-prepared bag, quickly changed into his Exorcist uniform and followed the already-leaving Kanda and Link.

"Are we taking the Ark? Or are we taking the train?" he asked after he caught up to them.

"Che. Only an idiot would ask that question." Kanda's hand tightened on the hilt of Mugen, his eyes darting around. He was nervous. Allen couldn't pinpoint the reason why, but it was obvious that Kanda didn't seem quite like the normal Kanda he was used to. "We're taking the Ark to get to Norway, then taking a train to get to our destination. We have no time to take a goddamn boat."

_Oh, right. _Allen felt sweat roll down the side of his head. _I can't believe something that made sense came out of Kanda's mouth...  
_

They all reached a train station within half an hour after taking the Ark and booked a ride to their destination. They had some time to kill, so Allen looked over a stream while he waited. Part of him wanted to do this by himself. It was his burden, so he figured he might as well. But then again, part of him said that it wasn't smart to do that. His eyes closed half-way. How was he going to do this?

_Run._

_No, bad Allen. Stay with your group._

_Run!_

_If I run, I'll be caught, then thrown off this mission. I'll lose my chance to save Lavi. And if I do that, I'll never be able to forgive myself._

_Who cares? _The other side was starting to get quieter as the voice telling him to make a break for it got louder. _Who honestly gives a damn? I can do it. I can do it by myself, I know I can. I'm the Destroyer of Time, right? _

_What does that title have to do with anything?!_

_Run. Go for it!_

Allen bit his lower lip as Kanda and Link were talking. He had to find a distraction. If only Fou were here. He could have asked her to substitute him for a little while as he made a run for it. The option sounded more and more appealing as time went on. He nodded to himself. _Go for it._

He turned to see Kanda and Link still talking, folders in their hands. He could hear the train arriving. Perfect. Quickly but quietly, he approached up to them from behind and swiped their bags that they had left on the ground. He took them and tossed them into the stream that he was looking into. The whistle muffled the splashing sound as the train arrived, the conductor calling people to come aboard. Kanda and Link started to head towards the train as Allen quickly got on. Link paused, then blinked.

"Wait," he said. "My luggage is missing."

Kanda took a moment to comprehend, then, on instinct, looked for his own bag. When he came up with nothing, his eyes widened. "…So is mine."

The two looked at each other, then looked back to where they were standing earlier as Allen snickered. He approached the conductor and told him that it seemed no one else was getting onto the train. The conductor nodded, then closed the door to the train. Kanda and Link looked up to see the train leave.

"Fuck!" Kanda glared at the train as it went away. "…Moyashi made a fool of us!"

Link said nothing as the train disappeared behind the horizon line. It was upsetting, yes, but everyone should have seen this coming.

"We need a phone," he said. "I'm going to report this back to Komui."

* * *

Alright, that's it for this chapter. Short. Frig. So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor, and I'll give you a cookie! ^.^ See you all in Chapter 4! --K.S.


	4. Requiem

Yayz! Chapter 4 is here! Celebration dance! Well, anyways… I don't want to jinx myself, because last time I wrote a fanfic, I said it wouldn't break ten chapters, and then it turned out I wrote 21. . So! I'm not going to say that, but I am going to say that there's a strong possibility that this is going to be a short one. So! Let us commence forthwith with Chapter 4 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

* * *

4. Requiem

His eyes could not adjust back to the way they were. They were gone, shattered. The woman, Lilith, said that they were completely blood shot and not focused at all. He didn't like the sound of that, but there was nothing he could really do about it. So instead of worrying about it, he was going to try to stay optimistic that his eyes were going to return to normal, with any luck.

It was morning time. He knew this because the little boy, even though his tone was laced with malice, told him so. He had opened the windows, even, to let some air in. Right then, he was alone. And he really didn't care. The family was insane, and he didn't really want to get involved with their affairs that much. Well, it wasn't so much that they were insane; it was that they were just not normal. They were possibly more dysfunctional than the Science Department. And he had only met the mother and the child.

He pushed himself up off of the bed and touched his feet on the floor. It was wood, refined wood. He didn't need to see it to tell him that much. Awkwardly, he stood up and felt around the room, memorizing where everything was. There was a table that was approximately five feet long and four feet wide that reached up to his waist in height. It was wooden, too, and eight inches away from the bed. He took three more steps to find the wall and traced his hand all around the room. The room itself was about 16 feet by 21 feet. It wasn't too big, but it wasn't too small, either.

He located the door, found the windows (two of them), and managed to walk into the closet on accident. The room, he guessed, was originally a guest room, and he was the guest. More or less, this family had a pretty decent house. He found the open window and stuck his head out. It wasn't raining. The sun was actually out-- He could feel the rays pressing warmly against his face. There was a little bit of wind but nothing more.

In the distance, there was someone singing. The voice was raspy and wasn't too pleasant sounding, but it had a charm to it that Lavi couldn't help but listen in more. He peered further out the window to hear it more clearly:

"Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, I'll laugh when your world fades from white to black. Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, I'll be there to stab you in the back. The walls crumble, your feet stumble, clickety-clack, clickety-clack, I'll be there to stab you in the back."

It wasn't a pleasant song. It gave him the chills as he retreated back inside. The voice, though terrible, sounded like a boy's voice. It was more than likely that boy, Carroll, who was singing. He felt his way out of the room and down a set of stairs (twelve steps in length) and tried to find the front door. He felt around until the second door he opened allowed him to the outdoors. He took one step forward and fell knee-deep into the bog. He yielded, confused, then stepped back onto the house-step and found a small, wooden bridge that led across to the opposite bank.

_This house really is built on a bog, hunh? _He thought absent-mindedly, trying to follow the source of the voice. _I didn't think I'd see an actual bog-house in my life. They must have built the foundation on the only piece of solid land in this area…_

He stumbled and caught himself several times before his hand clasped up against a tree. The voice was coming from behind it. His head peered around it and the voice suddenly stopped and gasped. He had found the boy.

"What're you doing all the way out here?" Lavi asked, confused. "I counted how many steps away this is away from your house, and it's about… Well, it's a long distance. Were you the one singing?"

"Go away," Carroll responded. He began to rock out of nervousness. "You are unwanted here. You're one of them." After stating that supposed fact, he began to hum the tune again, his hands breaking the few twigs he could find.

"What is 'one of them', exactly?"

"An Agent of the Devil," the boy replied. "They lie. They do anything to make bad things happen. You are a Fallen One, like Lucifer." He paused in breaking his twigs and looked up at him. "Fallen One's don't need sight to move around. All they need is sensors that are hidden by their hair."

_Fallen One? Agent of the Devil? Is this kid crazy? If anything, I'm on his side! _Lavi felt a sting of annoyance prick his side as he shifted his weight to his left foot, trying to come up with a response that wasn't too rude. "I'm not."

"Lies," the boy said, then suddenly stood up and began to grow violent. "Lies, lies, lies! You are filled with nothing but lies, you Fallen One! I know you are! I saw you fall, I saw you! Your wings were clipped by God himself!" He began screeching and making strange sounds as he began to hit Lavi. "Betrayer! Betrayer! Go back to the depths of Hell! Betrayer! You Fallen One! One of them! One of them!"

"Wha-- No, I'm no-- Ah--!"

He lost his footing and stumbled back into the wetter parts of the bog, one untouched by trees, and tried to find his way back. Carroll stared at him, his chants ceasing. Lavi felt around desperately. _Shit! If only I had my hammer, I would be able to get out of this mess_…! He blinked as a thought hit him hard. _My hammer… Where is my Innocence, anyways? Did the Earl…?_

"You're getting what you deserve, Fallen One," Carroll said calmly, then picked up a twig and threw it at him. "What you deserve! Betrayer! Betrayer!"

"Wait-- I'm not a--!"

Carroll turned and ran, leaving the struggling redheaded Exorcist alone in the bog. His fingers dug desperately at where he thought the solid piece of land was and pulled himself out, body drained of energy. He panted for a few seconds before sitting up. The boy's chants reached his ears.

"Fallen One, Fallen One, cry with the touch of God's powers," his shrill voice rang throughout the bog, "and learn what it means to be in a darkest hour! Clickety-clack, clickety-clack!"

For someone as young as him, he sure is freaking intelligent. Lavi reached for the tree and helped himself to stand. Crazy, a little mentally unstable, but definitely intelligent. His feet and pants were thoroughly soaked, as was part of his shirt. He counted back the steps he had taken before back to the house that he came from. The woman called out his name as he approached.

"I am so sorry!" she exclaimed. "Carroll has never been like this to a stranger. I've never seen anything like it, not once! Please, come this way, I'll get you some new clothes and some cranberry juice."

He only nodded as she retrieved a new pair of clothes. He stood there, dripping, until she came back and handed him the clothes. He thanked her before she could offer to help him and found the stairs with ease. He counted all twelve steps before he headed back to the guest room. The material felt… smoother than his original shirt. He put his clothes off to one side and put on the clothes that the woman gave him and sighed. They were at least warmer than his wet clothes.

The woman's footsteps were heard as the stairs creaked with her weight pressing down on them. She picked up his clothes and placed the glass onto the table. "Please, drink that, and it will make you feel better," she said, then left the room.

_Feel better… I don't think I'll feel better until someone finds me. _He took a sip of the cranberry juice and frowned. _I don't think that boy will like me, no matter what I do. I'm kind of afraid to even fall asleep in this house._ He placed the glass onto the table and frowned more. _If only… If only I had my hammer. I miss it. It's strange. I never thought I'd miss an inanimate object…_

A cool breeze entered the room as he dragged a chair from the table towards where the window was and sat down, staring at nothing. _I hope you guys don't get yourselves into trouble, especially if it's because of me._ He frowned. _…They probably think I'm dead. What does it matter? No one's ever going to come. I should just… find a way to get back home myself._

He sighed once more before he began to talk to himself. "Damn… I… I can't believe this is happening to me…" His left hand reached and touched his right arm. There was no feeling whatsoever. He grimaced as the words of Carroll's song echoed in his head:

"_Fallen One, Fallen One, cry with the touch of God's powers, and learn what it means to be in a darkest hour!"_

* * *

"No, ma'am, I have not seen anyone that looks like that around these parts."

The door closed quietly as Lenalee stood tiredly in the street. It was almost as bad as looking for General Cross. She had drawn a quick sketch of Lavi-- which was practically useless, in her eyes --and had showed it to everyone within a three-mile radius of the train station that she arrived at. She knew she was still pretty far away from where Lavi was thrown, but there still was a chance of him stumbling into town and looking for either something to eat or a pretty girl. Either option was valid.

She picked up her bag up off of the ground and began to head back to the train station. She had searched for most of the day, and the sun was starting to set. She yawned as the scent of food caught her attention. It wasn't far from the train station, so she figured she might as well eat something. She was hungry, anyways, and it was bad to do a job on an empty stomach. The sound of a train whistle almost caught her attention, but the food held it steady. The vendor smiled up at her. "Can I help you?"

"Can I get one of those?" She pointed to the sandwich that held her attention especially.

"Sure thing! Gimme a second…"

She waited patiently and paid him once she received her sandwich. She started to walk away until she bumped into someone. It nearly caused her to drop her sandwich. "Ah--! I'm so very sorry…" She stopped mid-sentence as she realized who it was. "A-Allen… kun?"

Allen, who was slightly tired from the train ride, looked up to see Lenalee with a sandwich in her hand. "L-Lenalee?"

The two took a moment before both of them began to apologize for different reasons. It took about three minutes to sort all of the confusion out. Allen cleared his throat after a silence ensued. "So… Why did you take off without me the other day?"

"I didn't know that you'd come with me."

"Of course I would have!" Allen tried to keep his voice at normal speaking levels, but it wasn't working. "I mean, he's missing, and… I'm worried, to say the very least."

"As am I." She paused, and then pointed at a building. "It's late, though. We should probably head back to the inn. I only got one room with one bed, though. Is that fine?"

He nodded. He would take the floor. If Komui had found out that he had slept beside Lenalee in a bed, his head would find itself on a silver platter faster than his eye reacted to the presence of Akuma. Even if he explained that he didn't hold a romantic interest in Lenalee, Komui would have killed him. Lavi was more likely to do such a thing. Lavi was what Komui had to worry about, not him. He chuckled slightly as the two approached the inn and to the room. Lenalee plopped down onto the mattress as Allen sat on the floor.

"So," she said uneasily, "the plan for tomorrow is that we find our way to that bog and see if we can find him there. None of the people here in the main city has seen a redheaded person, so we can kind of assume that he hasn't been through here." She stared vacantly out the window and sighed. "I wonder why there were even Noah all the way out here in the first place…"

"Oh!" Allen pulled out the folder with the mission brief and looked through it. "There's something about Innocence in here somewhere…"

"Wait…" Lenalee took the folder from the unsuspecting hands of Allen and looked it over. "This thing says here that you were supposed to be in a group consisting of Kanda, you and Link. Where's Kanda and Link?"

"Ahahahahahaaa…" Allen glanced to one side, trying to hide his nervousness as best he could. "W-Well, we got separated at the train station, so, erm, they may be, uh, getting here tomorrow… You know?"

Lenalee raised an eyebrow but said nothing. _Allen-kun is that desperate to save Lavi, isn't he? _She thought, closing the folder in her hands. _If Link were around, every movement he made would be monitored. He probably doesn't even care that there's Innocence around here. That's probably the least of his worries._ She placed the folder off to one side, frowning. "It would have been a lot easier if they were here," she finally commented.

At this, Allen relaxed. She didn't notice his nervousness, or she was at least pretending that she didn't. "Y-Yes…"

She paused, then took out a map of the area that she had grabbed from the train station when she got off. It wasn't too heavily detailed, but it was enough for them at the moment. "So, as a result of me not finding anyone who has seen Lavi, I figured he's possibly still out in the bog area." She took a pen out from her pocket and circled a little dot. "This is where we are," she said before circling another spot, "and this is where we were the other day. It's not too far from here, ten miles, tops." She drew a bigger circle around the smaller one and traced it again with her forefinger. "He could be anywhere within this area."

Allen looked at the slightly bigger circle and looked at the map measurements. One inch equaled fifty miles, and that had to be an inch and a half. His heart sank. "Why… is the area so big? He was thrown, but I don't think…"

"If someone happened to find him," Lenalee intervened, "they probably would have taken him home if he were injured. He could have also wandered around, trying to find his way back…" She put up her hand when Allen was about to protest. "Think about it. If Lavi got thrown, what are the chances of his Innocence staying in his hand?"

_She has a point… _Allen bit his lower lip, then slammed his hands on the map, crinkling it. "There's got to be a way to make this map smaller! What if he's still injured out there and an Akuma--?!"

"Allen-kun."

He stopped at the sight of Lenalee's sad expression. "L-Lenalee…"

"I'm trying," she said, "the best I can. Do you think you're the only worried one around here?" She looked away, tear running down her cheek. "I have gone over all the possibilities of what could have happened to him twice, three times, five hundred times already. And each time I reach my last conclusion of my list, I wish I could do something more! I wish I could, but, Allen-kun…" She looked up at him, not hiding the fact that she was crying anymore. "…I can't. I can't do anything more. I just want to find him as fast as I can. I don't… I don't want to lose part of my family…!"

He was struck speechless and helpless as the Chinese girl cried in front of him. She immediately reached out and hugged him, sobbing endlessly. He said nothing as he just continued to stare at whatever was in his line of vision, which happened to be the circle that Lavi could have been in.

"It's okay," he reassured, patting her on the back. "It's okay, we'll find him. I promise."

She said nothing as she pulled away from his arms, her eyes wide with a terrible expression-- Doubt. "…Thank you, Allen-kun."

He said nothing in response and instead nodded. His eyes flickered over to the window where the darkened horizon looked completely unwelcoming. The knot in his heart tightened. Where was he? He glanced back at the map and stared at it, unwilling to accept the fact that it was a huge radius to search within.

"What time should we wake up tomorrow?" he asked, folding the map back up.

"Early as possible. I say six." Her eyes glanced at him quickly before the wall suddenly became so interesting for her to stare at. "You look exhausted, Allen-kun. I bet you haven't gotten any sleep recently."

_And what makes you think I'm going to sleep all right now? He's still out there! _Allen hesitated before answering. His emotions were becoming more and more difficult to control. He was upset, to put it frankly. "…You're… right. I haven't."

She nodded. "I would have said something like four in the morning or so, but it seems that your body doesn't look up to it." She hefted her bag up off of the floor and placed it next to Allen's in the corner of the room. "I have no doubt in my mind that your mentality is ready, but… You already are worried sick. You need to rest."

_Quit mothering me! I'll do whatever I want! I'm not that weak!_ He nodded at her before smiling weakly. "Yes… You're right."

"Do you want the rest of my sandwich?" Lenalee asked, handing him the other half that she had yet to finish. Allen's eyes perked up at the sight.

"Ah! Thank you very much!" Allen took it out of her hands and immediately began to eat, forgetting all the troubles that were bothering him for about thirty seconds. Lenalee just smiled quietly as she watched him eat it. A dangerous thought crossed her mind--

…_Let's just hope we find him in one peace without any distractions…_

A bird called off in the distance, disturbing the silence, as a rumble of thunder bounced around the clouds.

* * *

Chapter 4, done! Man… I was so good at typing longer chapters. I wonder if it's because I have SAT's to worry about… Well, that aside. So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! It would be very greatly appreciated. Well, until next time, see you in Chapter 5! --K.S.


	5. Heart of Stone, Mind of Water

Woo-hoo, Chapter 5 is here! Sorry for the delay. I figured I would have this chapter updated last Friday, but obviously, that didn't happen. So, good news-- MAINE IS FINALLY GETTING GREAT WEATHER. For all those who don't know, we are typically still getting snow this time of year. Yeah. Well, that aside, give a round of applause for Chapter 5 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

* * *

5. Heart of Stone, Mind of Water

It was late in the evening. Carroll had been up for approximately three hours, twenty-seven minutes and fifty-six seconds (time was a thing he always needed to keep track of. Otherwise, he would go berserk), and he still couldn't bring himself to sleep. Typically, on a regular day, he would have promptly went to bed at eight and fall asleep about three minutes and forty-eight seconds later, but today was not a typical day.

_A __**FAllEN **__ONE. _His eyes moved from the unlit candle to the unlit bog. The moon was not to come around until another three days, and even then, it would only be a sliver. Three days. He liked the moon and its phases. It never changed, its pattern. The only thing that ever changed about the moon was where it rose and sank above and below the horizon line. _a __**faLLen**__ one. We'Re __**aLLowInG **__tHat __**thInG**__ in __**ouR**__ houSe. __**wE'rE **__lETTINg __**iT **__slEEp __**hErE. **_Carroll's hands twitched as he tugged at the blanket over his head.

Wool. It was made of wool and smelled like the sheep at Mrs. Maya Wright's farm. He had visited there once upon a time. He had almost forgotten about that. That was when they visited England. He didn't like England that much. It was a lot more populated than Norway in his opinion. He picked up the candle on the table beside his bed and observed it. Bee's wax. It was a very good smelling candle. He always liked fire. _FaLLEn __**onE's **__H__**A**__T__**E**__ FirE. THEY __**HATE **__pAin. _His eyes sparkled with a hint of justice. _**FirE…**_

Quickly, he reached for a match and struck it on the piece of flint causing sparks to flutter about. He lit his candle and giggled in pure joy. He was going to get the best of the Fallen One, after all. He was going to watch it fight back and was going to watch it writhe and scream out and beg and die slowly, slowly, oh so ever the slowest of deaths all while knowing that help was within its arms reach but no one, no one, would be willing to help, not even God. His giggled heightened, almost to the point of a hysteric laugh.

Screams. Screams of a Fallen One. He would laugh loud and proud and in the favor of God watching it burn. Fire. Fire and the smell of flesh burning and the smell of hair burning and the burning of bones and feet and eyes and brain and body and soul and… He approached the stairs and walked as lightly as he could so that no noise would come from his footsteps. Only tiny creaks sounded. He didn't really need to worry about his mother waking up-- She was an incredibly heavy sleeper. He had dropped three plates beside her bed and shattered them, but she still didn't wake.

The only thing he really needed to worry was about it. If it heard him, it would be all over. He entered the room slowly and cautiously, candle dripping the excess wax, as he checked around the room. It was sitting near the open window, its blind eyes staring at nothing. It was muttering to itself in a language Carroll had never heard before. He tilted his head slightly to the left. Fallen One's didn't like many languages. They only spoke English and their own tongue. But it definitely sounded like a human language. Fallen One's spoke in tongues, or so he thought.

He walked slowly towards it, trying his best to stay focused. The Fallen One's eyes continued to stare out into the bog, even though it still couldn't see. Carroll resisted to giggle in triumph as he became within reach to light him aflame. He bent down, about to set his clothes on fire, when hot wax dripped onto his hand, causing him to shriek out and drop the candle onto the floor. It went out in an instant as Lavi's eyes widened in shock to hear someone's voice.

"Hello?"

Carroll shrieked louder, but this time in shame of not being able to carry out his mission and not because of being burned by the candle wax. Lavi didn't understand the situation, but he knew that someone-- Carroll, by the sounds of the young, adolescent boy's voice --was in pain. "Are you okay? What happ--"

"_Stop faking kindness!" _he shrieked, then launched himself towards the blind redhead, toppling him over and causing the back of Lavi's head to whack against the wooden floor. "Go back to Hell! Go back, go back, go, go, go! _Go! _Burn in a swirl of fire and flames, and realize the sins you committed and also your shames! _Go!" _

Lavi felt a sharp pain to his side as Carroll had gotten up off of him and began to kick the apprentice Bookman repeatedly, chanting and cursing and belittling him calling him a 'Fallen One' and multiple other names. "Ow-- Hey, stop it-- I can't talk if you're-- _Ow!" _Carroll kicked him in the jaw, causing his mouth to close and bite hard on his tongue. He winced as Carroll managed to kick the man over back onto his back and pinned him down, punching him in the face.

_This kid… is strong…! _Lavi desperately tried to block the fists that were hitting him repeatedly, but he couldn't get his arms free from underneath the boy's knees. _How could a kid his age be so strong?! It's not… Ungh! _Lavi took another shot to the gut before Carroll finally got up off of him and ran. The redhead coughed repeatedly before gasping and trying to recover. _Maybe it's not that he's strong, it's probably me still recovering from the fight the other day… _He lifted up his arm that could still move and reached out to the bed, dragging himself onto it painfully.

"Fuck." He rubbed at his cheek and managed to get some of the blood that trickled down his chin off before keeping his ears in tune. He definitely did not want that kid to come back in there and try to kill him again. Why did he run in the first place? Lavi tugged at one of the blankets and somehow managed to wrap it around himself.

Sadness crept up on him. He shook his head from side to side to get rid of it, but it didn't work. So instead, he bit his lower lip as hard as he could, enough for it to bleed, so that he would focus on that instead of the sudden feeling of sadness. When that didn't work, he sighed and gave up a little bit. "Fuck…" he said again, then tightened his grip on the fabric of the blanket. "I want to go home…"

He knew he couldn't. He wouldn't even be able to walk out five feet before stepping down into the bog and, knowing his luck, drown. He had know choice but to stay where he was. He grimaced.

"Lenalee…" He buried his head into the blanket, squeezing his eyes shut. "Allen…"

Downstairs, Carroll was back in his room. He didn't manage to kill the Fallen One, but beating it senseless was satisfying enough. God's wishes would have to wait until later, unfortunately. He would come up with another plan. But first! He got up once more and walked towards the kitchen. On the shelf was its hammer, but he couldn't quite reach it. He huffed, then dragged a chair over to the shelf and stood on it. He reached up and grabbed the handle and was shocked by how heavy it was. He'd say it was about twenty pounds or so. Frowning, growing annoyed, he hefted the hammer over his shoulder and walked out the front door.

It was still dark out. It was ten twenty nine and fifteen seconds for the time. Carroll walked across the planks that they made as bridges until he felt like he was far enough away. He lifted the hammer up, then, with every ounce of strength the boy possessed, heaved it into the darkness. He counted to himself. "One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six Sev--" A splash, then a small thud. The boy grinned. He had successfully managed to get rid of the Fallen One's weapon. He looked up to the twinkling stars and smiled.

_Mr. __**GoD. **__I __**wIll **__coMpleTe __**My**__ MIssIon __**for**__ yoU. _He gazed at the sky a little bit longer before turning back and heading towards his house, leaving the hammer out in the wetland completely unprotected, but that was the least of Carroll's worries. He clicked his tongue a little.

_I __**SWEaR **__It. _

* * *

It sounded like a crack of a whip, but it was actually a rumble of thunder that woke Allen Walker up. He rubbed his eyes to see Lenalee eating. She waved at him, though she had a look of annoyance on her face. He knew that look-- It was the "why-didn't-you-sleep-longer-so-that-you-could-rest-and-I-could-have-done-this-myself" look. He gave her the "there's-no-freaking-way-I'm-going-to-let-you-do-that" look and she sighed, giving up, before smiling at him. "Good morning, Allen-kun."

How is this morning any good? He thought as he smiled faintly at her. "Good morning, Lenalee… Is there any breakfast left for me?"

She nodded. "Of course! I saved you some toast." She pointed to the plate and Allen was instantly all over it, eating it as if his life depended on it. His stomach growled for more food even after he was done, but he ignored it.

"So," he said after swallowing the last bit, "what's the plan?"

Lenalee glanced at the window as she spoke. "We have about five hours before Link and Kanda get here." Before Allen could question, she put up her hand. He was getting really annoyed at her for stopping what he was going to say every single time. "They are no doubt in my mind, coming after you. Well, more so Link and less so Kanda. Link will probably take you back to the Order when he finds you."

"'When'?" Allen repeated.

"Yes, when," Lenalee nodded. "We can't underestimate him. Even though he's not an Exorcist, he has turned out to be a very formidable person in general, so he will find you. The question is how long we have before that happens. I would say that the train to Norway departs in about twenty minutes." She sighed, then looked back at Allen before smiling briefly. It didn't reach her eyes. "So I say five hours. It's not a whole lot, but with my Dark Boots, I say we can more than definitely try to find something."

He nodded before a shriek nearly muffled the rumble of thunder that echoed around. Allen and Lenalee both rose from their seats and looked out the window, confused. A woman was down there, a small hat in her hands, and by the looks of it, crying. Instinct kicked in for the British Exorcist as he got up and ran down the stairs and out the door of the inn to see what was going on.

"My child… My child…!" The woman sobbed as a crowd began to gather around. "My child has gone missing!"

"That's the fifteenth child this week!" a man's voice said.

"Where do they keep disappearing to?"

"I don't know, but rumor has it that someone is leading the children out to that broken-down doll shop and none of them return alive. And every person who enters to find out what is happening comes out with pentacle-shapes before exploding into dust!"

"You're kidding!"

Lenalee caught up to Allen as Allen stood there, shocked. There was no doubt in his mind that this had something to do with the Innocence that he was supposed to be searching for. His heart tore in two. Was he going to help the children, or was he going to save Lavi? There was no way he could do both in five hours, and there was also no way that he and Lenalee could split up. If the Noah showed their faces again, they needed to stick together.

"What's going on?" the Chinese girl asked, looking over Allen's shoulder.

"That woman lost her child," he replied, tugging up his hood to protect his head from the rain that started to pour. "I think it has something to do with the Innocence located around here. They say that there's a doll shop that they go to…"

Lenalee's expression of confusion fell into an expression of sadness. No doubt was she thinking the same thing that Allen was. She glanced at the sobbing woman before looking back at Allen. "…I think it's obvious what we need to do, Allen-kun."

He nodded reluctantly. "Yes, I think… we have to save the children."

Lenalee bit her lower lip as Allen stared up at the dark thunder clouds, seeing a bolt of lightning bounce around the clouds. Rain pattered onto his head, making his eyelids blink repeatedly so that no water would enter his eyes. _I'm sorry, Lavi. _He thought dismally as Lenalee went on ahead to ask people about recent events. _I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a little longer… So, wherever you are, hang on. Hang on just a little longer and I'll find you. Promise._

He knew he could never keep a promise. Promises he made were often broken or forgotten, and it was more so of the broken ones. He hated that about himself more than anything, but that was besides the current point that was going on here.

Lenalee approached him with an umbrella-- where did she get the umbrella? --and stood next to him. "Apparently, the name of this shop is called the 'Doll House'. It went out of business after a huge budget cut, apparently. That was several years ago, and the owner supposedly died. They left the building to rot and it was completely abandoned because of the rumors that it was haunted by the owner himself."

"'Him'?" Allen repeated. The thought of a male running a doll shop was slightly foreign to him.

"Yes, him," Lenalee nodded as her tone was slightly scolding. "Is it not all right for a man to run a doll shop?"

_Well… It's just a little strange, that's all… _Allen sweat-dropped as he shook his head. "Why a doll shop, I wonder?"

"Apparently, his dolls were extremely popular, but for whatever reason, he couldn't afford to pay the rent for the building, so he cleared out." She pointed down the street. "It's a little down the way, three miles or so, but it was worth it, according to the older locals." She held up a doll that was practically brand-new. It had one eye and was a freaky looking thing. Allen couldn't see why they were so popular. "I actually kind of like how unique they are…"

_I-Is she okay?! That's… It's… _He refrained from saying anything insulting and nodded slightly. "Unique is definitely one way to put it…"

"Anyways, back to what I learned," she continued after Allen's strange afterthoughts. "The man died of the flu. He had a weak immune system, or so I'm told… He died two days after being inflicted. So I'm more than certain that it's not the owner out for revenge or whatever." She sighed. "It looks like we're going to have to do more in-depth research."

"Which means…" Allen glanced down the road that Lenalee had pointed at earlier. "…we have to go in there and figure out what's going on."

"Also, they say ghosts are haunting the place. It wouldn't be surprising if there were zombies, either."

_Gh-Ghosts? Zombies? _Allen felt the chills sink in as Lenalee proceeded down the road towards the shop was. _Th-This is like déjà vu of Krory's castle…!_

"Well, come on, Allen-kun! We don't have any time to waste!"

"Y-Yeah… Coming…" he replied less than enthusiastically.

* * *

Kanda was pacing and waiting for the goddamn train to get there. They had explained the situation to Komui, who was than pleased at Allen's actions, though he could see that he refrained from punishing the damned bean sprout too badly. Link was the one who voted for a higher level of punishment, but he was immediately shot down.

"_We need Allen to continue this mission," _Komui had said calmly. _"He will, no doubt in my mind, be the one to find and bring back Lavi where he belongs."_

"_I understand that, sir," _Link replied in a seething tone of voice, _"but if we let Walker wander around too freely, he may end up fighting the Earl and turning into the Fourteenth while he is at. He would put everyone in danger. I do not think that--"_

Komui had put up his hand. _"If you have such an issue with it," _he said, _"take it to Leverrier and complain about it. Otherwise, you are not getting me to agree with your viewpoint. You are dismissed."_

Kanda had said nothing during that entire conversation. He growled impatiently as the train seemed to be taking beyond forever. _After that, though, _he thought absentmindedly, _Link did go to Leverrier and complained. Moyashi is going to have to withdraw from the mission as soon as he finds him. Che. _Kanda glanced at the Inspector before returning to glaring at the clock. _Even though I hate Moyashi, I think he at least deserves to find the Baka Usagi… I have a feeling that the only reason why this person complained is because he doesn't like Komui too much. _

There was the sound of a train whistle that caught his attention. It had finally arrived after fifteen long minutes that he would rather forget. He made sure he had his bag, Mugen, and everything else he needed before he proceeded to enter. Link followed behind him as the train door shut. They took their seats and the train began to move slowly towards their destination. Thankfully, they had used the Ark, so the time it took to get there would probably be around four to five hours.

Link seemed to mutter to himself as Kanda's frown deepened. _I really don't want to deal with this shit. Can't he just do it himself? Che_. He glanced out the window, even more annoyed than before.

…_This is going to be a loooong train ride…_

* * *

Woo-hoo! Chapter 5, done! So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! It is highly appreciated! ^.^ And yes, the bolds and the capitalized letters are on purpose. So yeah. Thanks again, and I'll see you in 6! --K.S.


	6. Doll House

Heya, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome back to Chapter 6 of 'Linked'! Thanks for sticking with me thus far! ^.^ I've been getting complaints about how I'm abusing Lavi… Erm… Hah, blame Carroll, not me! Anyways. Let us commence forthwith with Chapter 6 of 'Linked'! (And thank you all for the reviews and favorites! It's you guys who I keep writing for! Sorry if I don't reply to all of you're reviews. I have little time as is. XD)

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

* * *

6. Doll House

It was an unsteady path to the building they were trying to get to. Lenalee led the way, occasionally stopping and looking around to see if they had passed it, then would continue on. When they finally found it, it was a wreck. The base color looked like it used to be pink, the windows that used to be big and shiny were broken and scattered in front of it. Oddly, they couldn't see what was inside from the outside, even though the door had been ripped from its hinges. Lenalee ducked her head inside and shrugged.

"It seems safe," she remarked. "Come on, Allen-kun."

_Famous last words… 'It seems safe', as Master Cross would say, even when he sent me to fetch a lion… We're going to get killed… _Allen reluctantly followed the Chinese Exorcist into the broken-down building. Spider webs hung from the roof. A chandelier with six half-burnt candles swayed gently with the sudden gust of with, making little 'clink'-ing noises from the fake crystals that dangled off of them. There was an eerie silence that made Allen shudder slightly. Whenever Lenalee stepped onto a creaky piece of wood, he would jump, then apologize for being so paranoid.

"That's strange," Lenalee said as she observed the room. "I could have sworn this building was a lot bigger outside. You stay here while I go check it out, okay, All-- Allen-kun? Why are you looking pale?"

"Oh, n-nothing!" Allen said with great unease. She gave him a weird look before leaving the building and back outside. He backed up into a wall and breathed heavily. _What is going on with me_?! He screamed inside his head. _I'm an Exorcist, I fight creepy Akuma on a regular basis, and yet, I'm letting this building get the best of me! _He glanced around the room before another creak, one from behind him, made him look around frantically.

_Th-There's no way that just came from behind me! _He yelled in his thoughts, looking from side to side. _There's absolutely no way! My back is to the wall! Only ghosts can go through walls and stab you in… _His eyes widened as he felt something grab him by the neck and pull him through something. He yelled loudly, trying to get Lenalee's attention, but it was too late as he was dragged into a dark room. The walls that had part closed again as Lenalee rushed back inside, confused.

"Allen-kun?"

When there was no answer, she activated her Dark Boots and looked around. No. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't lose Lavi and then lose Allen, too. Maybe he went off somewhere? No, she told him to stay there. Then where…? She searched desperately-- under tables, under chairs, behind the tattered curtains.

Allen was no where to be found.

"Allen-kun?" she repeated before clasping her hands around her mouth. _"Allen-kun! Where are you? Where did you go?!"_

Only the howl of the wind answered her as she slumped to her knees. Allen had mysteriously disappeared. Maybe this place was actually haunted by ghosts… She stood up and frowned heavily, eyes narrowing into a sad look. There was nothing there aside from what she was seeing. Absolutely nothing. An idea hit her then-- Did he go out the window and decide to look for Lavi? She wouldn't put it past him. She looked around once more before deciding that the last answer was the most logical conclusion. She would have to look for him, in that case.

Wherever the missing children were, they certainly weren't in that tiny store.

Or at least, that's how she saw it in her eyes.

So she decided, like Allen, to go find Lavi.

She stepped outside into the street. There was no one there, so it was perfectly fine to walk around with them activated. She jumped up onto the roof, then, after scanning around, jumped from the roof and launched herself high into the air.

_Allen-kun, Lavi… I'm coming for you. _

* * *

"Oof-- Ow, ow, _ow_-- Gah-- _Ugh!" _Allen, after tumbling down a flight of stairs, landed hard on his head and groaned loudly for all the world to hear. Stars spun around his head before he managed to sit up and look around. He was in an unnecessarily long corridor lit with candles. The floor had a checkerboard pattern in lime green and black with little lines covering the lime green squares, which was not easy on the eyes. The ceiling had strange things-- Doll heads, legs, dresses --hanging down, most of which having red blotches of either ink or blood stained on them.

Allen swallowed hard. _Someone obviously is here._

He stood up, brushing the dirt off of his clothes, before taking a step forward. The sound of his foot connecting with the floor echoed a long ways down the hall, which gave him an uneasy feeling. He continued to walk down until two beings, both shorter than him by an inch, came out from two side rooms and put up their hands. The one on the left was blonde, had blue eyes, freckles, and gapped teeth. She had an awkward grin and a broad forehead. Her dress was a nice sky-blue with white ribbons coming off of them. The other was a brunette with brown eyes, a scar on her left cheek, and was missing her left hand. She wore an identical dress, though hers was black with silver ribbons.

"Wait, stranger," the one on the left spoke in a strange voice. It was in the high, raspy tenor range that made people want to cringe. For whatever reason, she reminded him of Rhode. "The Mistress does not allow guests at this time of day."

"Quite, quite," the one on the right nodded. "She is, as one would say, far too busy. She has no time for guests. You may want to leave, good sir."

"W-Wait a minute," Allen said, confused. "I thought this place was abandoned. And I didn't even know that this place was here until something grabbed me and dragged me in here."

The two girls looked at him with blank looks before wide grins formed on their faces. They began to giggle uncontrollably as they spun around in circles, clapping their hands (well, hand for the one on the right) together before skipping down the hall, singing in unison, "Mistress, Mistress! We have a proper guest!"

"Wait-- Hey--!" Allen watched them duck behind two separate walls. He was too freaked out to move before something poked him in the back. He yelled out loudly before turning around and seeing a young boy there. He was dressed in what one would call 'proper attire'-- Cap, green suit, snappy shoes --even though it didn't seem comfortable.

"Sir, I bestow these upon you, as my Mistress commands," the boy said in a low, solemn tone of voice. "The changing rooms are right over there." He bowed politely before striding back to where he came from. Another boy came up, grabbed Allen by the wrist, and led him away to a bright-pink room.

"You can change in here," he said lightheartedly. "My Mistress will be waiting for you in the room farthest down the hall. Don't keep her waiting. She doesn't like to wait."

With that, the boy closed the door behind him and left a very confused Allen to stand in the room with a blank look on his face. He looked at the clothes that were given to him-- A top hat, a stick-- it was a black stick, a cane, maybe? -- a black suit with black pants and a red tie.

_What the… What is going on here?! _He stared at the clothes for another long moment before sighing. He began to undress. _Well, we might as well see who this 'Mistress' is, anyways. Last I recalled, according to all the townsfolk around here, this building was abandoned. No one's supposed to live here. _He tied the red tie around the suit and looked at the mirror before putting on the top hat.

He looked odd. He had never dressed in these kind of clothes before. In a sense, what with the top hat and all, the outfit reminded him of Mana. This look suited Mana, not him, not ever. He laughed sheepishly before finding a pair of white gloves on the floor. Groaning, he picked them up and put them on. He rested the cane on his shoulder before leaving the room and walking down the long corridor. The silence wore on him heavily as he reached the ornate double-doors at the end of the hall.

"You may enter," a woman's voice said from behind the door.

Allen swallowed hard, then turned the door knob. The door suddenly got away from him as both swung in two graceful arcs until connecting to the walls. The room was fairly large, a window embedded in the ceiling (though it didn't show the outdoors-- It showed the chandelier from the room he was in, which confused Allen to no end). The wallpaper was a dark pink with black flowers imprinted upon it. On the floor was scattered materials-- Scissors, thread, fabric, pattern pieces --and the occasional wine bottle. There was an old piano in the corner, a lamp on every table, and six doors that led to separate rooms. At the piano, on the chair, was a woman. Her hair was tied back into a French knot, her skin was pale, her eyes, a dark brown. She wore an elegant dress that seemed unnecessary as well, though is suited her fine.

She stopped at the middle C key before turning her head slowly towards him.

She was stunningly beautiful.

"Welcome, boy," she said. She rose from the piano seat and headed towards the back right corner where a table and two chairs were. On the desk was a fine china pot with little blue flowers on it. Two cups and coasters completed the set as she beckoned him to come over. Allen took a moment to breathe before he walked over there quietly.

"Please, sit down," she smiled sweetly at him, indicating to sit at one of the chairs. He nodded shyly before taking his seat. She took her own seat before smiling once again, pouring him a cup of tea. "Would you like some sugar? Or perhaps I could interest you in some food?"

At that moment, Allen's stomach growled. She laughed daintily, covering her mouth with her left hand. On her ring finger was a silver ring with a red jewel in the center of it. She clapped her hands together. "Sylvia, Willow!"

The two creepy girls from earlier skipped towards her, both with huge, awkward grins on their faces. "Yes, Mistress?"

"See to it that this gentleman gets some proper food," she said. The two girls nodded, giggled, then skipped off into one of the six doors before it closed quietly behind them. The woman turned her head back towards him and smiled.

"Now, then." She poured herself some tea and stirred it just enough. "What is a charming young man such as yourself doing in Norway?" She eyed him up and down. "You don't look like a bog-dweller or one of the townsfolk. In fact, I daresay I've never seen you around here before. Where, pray tell, do you come from, sir?"

Underneath the table, his hand clutched the fabric of his pants. As pretty as she was, she gave him such a bad feeling that it made him a little sick. "England," he managed to say.

"England?" Her eyebrows rose up in surprise. "England. I have never been to England. I hope someday I can make it there. Please, drink your tea." When she noticed his uneasiness, she laughed. "Not to worry, I didn't poison it or anything. Please, drink."

Allen picked up the cup and blew on the liquid before taking a sip. It was Jasmine tea. He had drunk some before when he went to India. "I think you can."

She laughed politely at him. "Well, then I think it is about time I introduced myself. My name is Abigail Wilson. I am a seamstress and I love making dolls." She stared at him for a long moment before smiling. "The outfit you are wearing, that is one of my works. Do you like it? I made it for someone about your size." Allen gasped in surprise at this fact as she laughed quietly. "Do not fret-- I like dressing people up in the clothes that I make. Now, tell me, what is your name?"

He finished swallowing his portion of tea before answering. "Allen. Allen Walker."

"Such a nice name," she remarked, then pulled out a black book. It was bound in leather straps, but she quickly untied them and placed it onto the desk. Afterwards, she pulled out a pen and handed it to him. He looked at her, confused, when she opened the book to a half-way full page. On the top, it read "Guest List." She smiled at him. "Every time someone comes down here, be it by accident or on purpose, I make them sign this book. It's so I can keep track of who everyone is and what outfit they own every time they come down."

"Oh." Allen took the top off of the pen and wrote his name down in clear print.

"Full name, please," she said quietly. "There's another Allen that comes down here."

"Oh," he said again, then signed his last name onto the line of paper. He put the cap back onto the pen, shoved the book gently back towards her, and smiled. "Like that?"

Abigail picked up the book and looked at Allen's handwriting before smiling widely at him. "Yes… exactly like that. Now, Allen," she said, rising from her seat, "do you like chess? Or perhaps even checkers?"

"I… I would like to stay, but, uh, I'm kind of looking for my friend…"

Her eyes filled with a sudden, wicked gleam that made him freeze into place. He should have known something was wrong. She snapped the book shut and seemed to hum in a cheery tune. Allen's eyes started to droop unexpectedly. Wooziness began to hit him, his vision growing blurry, his strength seeping away like blood from a stabbed person.

_Is this… _he thought wearily as he struggled to stay awake. _Is this… the Innocence that those people were talking about…?_

"Once you write down your name, boy," she said in a cheerful voice, "you immediately become one of my 'human dolls'. You are quite a fine catch for my collection!" She laughed loudly as Allen slumped over in his seat, exhaustion succumbing him. "I wonder if you would sell high in the marketplace. Hoh hoh!"

_What… no… I can't… fall asleep now… _He tried to blink his eyes back open, but it didn't work._ No… I need… to find Lavi… I can't… find… Lavi… if I'm someone else's… doll…_

"Welcome to the Doll House!" sang a loud chorus.

That was the last thing he heard before he blacked out.

* * *

It was a sleepless night for the redhead. He was slightly terrified of Carroll coming back in and lighting him on fire if he decided to fall asleep. He was completely not welcome by that kid and he knew it. He couldn't do anything about it, though. That kid would never accept him, no matter what he did, no matter what he said.

Well, now wasn't the time for worrying about that. Now was the time to try to find something to eat. His stomach grumbled loudly at him and he sighed, annoyed. He needed food.

Slowly, he rose from his bed and walked down the flight of stairs, making sure to count all of them so that he didn't misplace his footing, and felt his way towards the kitchen. Something already smelled like it was cooking, and by the smells of it, it was…

"…Pancakes?" Lavi said aloud, which caught the woman's, Lilith's, attention.

"Why, yes," she nodded, but then remembered he couldn't see and stopped. "I take it you have a liking for pancakes? They're blueberry."

Lavi's stomach growled loudly again, which caused the woman to laugh. "Here, now," she said, grabbing him by the wrist and leading him to a chair. "Sit here and wait, and I'll get you some good pancakes to eat. My husband says pancakes are the only good things I can cook, but he said that was fine because he made up for it." She laughed loud and heartily as Lavi blinked, confused.

"Husband?"

"Oh, yes," she replied, flipping a pancake. "My husband works at the market place a whiles away from here. He only comes home on Friday and the weekend." She grabbed a plate from the cabinet and placed it in front of the redheaded Exorcist. "He has a knack for convincing people to buy things. He especially loves his top hats that he sells. You should wear one, Mr. Lavi-- I bet it would look good on your mop of hair."

With that, she laughed again and put a pancake onto his plate. She placed a fork in his hand gently and paused. "Oh, wait, did you want me to cut that up for you? I'm pretty certain you won't be able to do it yourself…"

"No, I've got it, thanks," Lavi replied. He honestly didn't someone mothering him, but he was having a great difficulty to do everything one-handed. "Uhm, ma'am," he started with uncertainty, then stopped. Lilith looked at him with a confused look on her face.

"What is it?"

He took in a deep breath. "Uhm, about your son… Is there… Is there any reason why he acts the way he acts, or is it because of his age?"

There was a heavy silence. Lilith sighed loudly before dragging a chair and sitting down at the table as well. "Mr. Lavi," she said, "we honestly have no clue. Carroll is typically a kind boy, though he gets his head wrapped up in strange fantasies that cause him to go absolutely crazy. He keeps calling you a 'Fallen One' and says you fell from the sky, but I'm pretty sure that's the work of his imagination, there."

He said nothing but nodded while chewing on his pancake as a whole (he had given up with the entire 'cutting it up' ordeal. It just wasn't working with one hand). "He seems… interesting."

"He's wicked smart," she remarked, then laughed. "The boy can do complicated math that not even my husband can do! He's read the Bible too many times for me to count, too. It's just he has a problem associating with people, that's all. Nothing wrong with that, I had the same problem, just not to this extreme. I figure he'll grow out of it. More pancakes?"

Lavi nodded eagerly at that. "Yes, please."

"Coming right u-- Ah!" The plate slipped from the woman's hand, resounding in a loud crash that nearly caused him to jump out of his seat. "Oh, now look what I've done… Hold on just a sec, Mr. Lavi-- I'll get you another plate."

He nodded quietly as he stared at nothing. Deep in his stomach, knots were forming. He had the worst feeling in the world, though he couldn't explain it. Did it deal with himself, or did it deal with someone else? He heard the clinking of dishes, though it didn't manage to throw him off of his thought processes.

_Yuu-chan? No… _His hands twitched subconsciously as he bit his lower lip. _No, not Yuu-chan, not Lenalee, either… Allen? _The knot tightened, which made him grimace. _Damn, he's always getting into trouble no matter what he does… Fuck, Allen, you better be taking good care of yourself, or else Lenalee will get pissed…_

Lyrics of Carroll singing reached his ears, which caused him to freeze into place, then shudder.

"_Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, once everything fades from white to black, your feet stumble, the walls crumble, clickety-clack, clickety-clack, I'll be there to stab you in the back."_

* * *

Woo-hoo! Chapter 6, done! So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! Yeah, things are bound to get interesting, now. Heh heh. (Holy Crap! No appearance of Carroll in this chapter! What is this world coming to?!) Well, I'll see you in Chapter 7! ^.^


	7. Soul Contract

Yo! Chapter 7 has arrived, and a little sooner than planned! Hah hah! We've been getting nothing but rain as of late, which is sad because I can't ride my bicycle (my bike rides are the source of all inspirations for my writings. ^.^), but I'll live. So! With that said, let us commence forthwith with Chapter 7 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

* * *

7. Soul Contract

"He's new, so be very nice to him. He goes by the name of Allen Walker, but you all may call him 'Allen'. Try to be on your very best behavior and make him feel welcome."

"Yes, Mistress! We always do our very best!"

The door closed slowly, leaving the confused boy to stand in a group of slightly smaller children. Including him, there were five others-- the two girls that he had met earlier, Sylvia and Willow, the solemn boy in the corner, the slightly cheerful boy at the table, and the other girl who was completely silent. Sylvia, the girl dressed in black, smiled at him and approached him first. "Hello, Allen!" she said cheerfully before giggling. "We haven't had a new member of our group for a while now. Or rather, one that has been introduced to us."

"Aye, aye," Willow chimed in. "Mistress typically only keeps new ones for about a day before she sells them off. You are such a cute doll! I bet he sells within the first three hours. What do you think, Sylvia?"

"Agreed!" she said in a high, chipper voice, and the two laughed loudly before sitting down at a table and focused on playing chess. They were too involved in playing that they didn't pay attention to the confused new member. The solemn boy approached him slowly and spoke slowly, almost as if he were talking to a three-year-old.

"My name," he said, "is Richard. We are all children of Abigail, except for…" His eyes glanced over to the silent girl in the corner, whose face was hidden by the shadows. Her eyes were fixed upon a candle. "…her. She's like you. I bet you are confused, aren't you, Allen? You seem to be one of the 'obedient' models."

Allen stared at him for a long moment. His lips parted a little bit, but said nothing and looked down at the floor. He had no clue what was going on. There were no memories left for him except for a few. His name, his Mistress, and that was it. "What… What is a 'doll', Richard?" he asked quietly.

"One of you. You are a 'doll'." Richard pulled out a tiny notebook that had terrible handwriting written throughout its pages. "Though, you are an exclusive sort of doll in which that you are modeled after an actual human being."

"Am I… not 'human'?"

"No," Richard answered immediately as he pulled out a pen and wrote something down. "That makes you the seventh 'obedient' model we've had to date. To tell you the truth, you are like a human, but your 'soul' is within the Mistress's notebook. That is the only way you are alive." He closed the book and shuffled it back into his coat pocket. "If she erases your name from the book, you 'die', but what really happens is that you turn back into the fabric from which you were once made."

It was like he was reading from a script. It was orchestrated quite well, whatever this 'Richard' was saying, because Allen didn't have a clue what they all were saying. "What's a 'model'? I don't understand…"

"A model is your human-based personality." Richard pointed to the girl over in the corner. "Take Jenna, there. She's a 'doll', too, like I said earlier. She is the only model that the Mistress ever made under the model of 'creepy'. How it works is very simple-- She writes out your entire character in the notebook and writes your name at the end of it, and you 'wake up'. If she wants to change your personality model, she erases it and writes you a new one. You forget all memories prior to that. It's like a 'restart' for you. Don't worry, though-- She only does a 'restart' to those who don't do their very best."

"Their… very best," Allen repeated, spacing out.

"Bah, you're filling his head with too much information, Rich!" the cheerful boy approached them and laughed. "Heya! The name's Seth. Pretty scary place, huh?" He glanced around before laughing and patting Allen on the back. "Not to worry! I'm sure Mistress will find you a proper home in no time at all! You'll be loved greatly by anyone who buys you, I just know it!"

With that said, he grabbed Richard by the hand and they headed into another room. Allen didn't bother to follow them. He just stared at the door for a few seconds before he looked around himself. Everything seemed so unfamiliar. He looked at his hands. One was red, the other, normal. Why was he created with such a strange-colored hand? Did his Mistress run out of fabric or something? Or maybe she wanted to create a different kind of 'doll' and made him special.

"Heh… Heh heh heh…"

Allen turned to see the girl in the corner laughing. Her finger was playing on the rim of the candle, her eyes, not moving. They weren't even blinking. She was like him, right? Only she had a 'creepy' model, as Richard had said. He smiled briefly-- it was a new concept for him, smiling --before walking over to her. "Did you say something, Miss?"

"No…" The girl continued to stare at the flame. "No, I was laughing… I wasn't speaking anything… The fire told me a very funny joke… and it made me laugh…" She looked up at him. Any other time, Allen would be freaked-out by her personality and the way she looked, but he didn't have the brain-capacity to be freaked-out. She had very dark, hollow eyes, or rather eye, for the other one was covered by white bandages, slightly long, black hair, and pale skin. When she laughed, her mouth didn't form into a smile. "…Very funny," she repeated, then continued to stare at the flame.

"What was this joke? Can I hear it?" Allen asked.

"…No," she said calmly. "The fire doesn't like it when I tell its jokes to anyone else… It's for me… and me alone…" Her hollowed eye finally blinked once, and the small chuckle of a humorless joke reached his ears. "…You're blocking the oxygen… the fire doesn't like it when… people block out its oxygen… It will cry…"

"My apologies!" Allen bowed once, then stood up back straight. "I will go somewhere else, then. Your name is Jenna, yes?"

"…Jenna," she repeated eerily. "Jenna Collier… Now… You're still suffocating the fire… It's very… saddened by this…"

Allen walked away from there and paused. He didn't know where to go. His Mistress (how he knew this he had no clue) wouldn't be going out to sell her dolls for another hour or so, so he had plenty of time to spare. What could he do? He didn't feel right just by standing there. He glanced around to see that the place was a mess. An instinct immediately kicked in and he wanted to clean the place. Whistling lowly, he began to pick everything up and organize the room as best he could.

Sylvia looked up from her chess game to see what he was doing and smiled. "Look, Willow," she said as she pointed to Allen, "he's doing his very best. Mistress made a very well-behaved one this time!"

"Yes, yes," Willow nodded as she looked over to the boy. "His very best! Very good, Allen!"

Allen felt strangely happy from the compliment. He smiled at the two girls and whispered lowly to himself, "I will always try to do my very best."

* * *

Lenalee had no luck in finding anything. There was nothing there, no signs of Allen, no signs of Lavi, nothing. She landed once or twice when she thought she saw somebody when it turned out to be a white flower or just a log lying in the water. She had tried to find something, someone, anyone, anything, but she turned up with nothing. The bog went on for miles. Did her circle of search not extend far enough? But surely, by now, she would have found at least Allen meandering about in the bog. Her pulse raced every single time she thought she found him, but when it turned out it wasn't him, she wanted to scream out in agony and curse God for doing this to her.

By mid-afternoon, she had returned to the town, tired and depressed. There were no signs anywhere, none. Where could they have gone? Did Allen end up getting distracted by an Akuma, or worse yet, a Noah? What if he was in need of her help? What if he was hurt and bleeding, somewhere out there in the bog? And what of Lavi? What if he was still there, too, severely injured, bleeding out slowly, breathing worsening, slowly dy--

"Lenalee?"

She stopped and turned towards Link and Kanda, both of which seemed to have just gotten off of the train. Kanda looked a little pissed off and Link looked as formal as ever, though they always looked like that. Lenalee couldn't help but to tear up and start talking incredibly fast in a manner that Kanda had never seen before. "They're gone I searched all over and there are no signs of them anywhere and I don't know what to do they're still out there and they're probably in need of help--"

"Wait, wait, stop talking." Kanda grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and glared at her. "Who are you talking about? Who are 'they'?"

She swallowed hard. "Lavi and… A-Allen-kun… We were investigating the missing children from this area… we figured it was part of the Innocence… so we went to the building that people rumored where the children were going…"

Kanda grimaced. _Fuck, that means we have to go on two goddamn rescue missions while finding the Innocence and defeating any Akuma that crosses our path. Isn't this just the most fucking ridiculous mission ever. _He glanced at Link and saw that he was thinking the same thing though in slightly nicer language. _Damn it, Moyashi, Baka Usagi… You both are going to fucking die for this afterwards. Che. _

Lenalee looked at him, then looked at the ground steadily. "The choice is up to you two, now," she said. "We can either go after them and see where they ended up, or go and try to find the Innocence that is supposed to be located here."

"I say we--" both started, then finished differently.

"…go after the Innocence," said Link.

"…find those damned brats," finished Kanda.

The two looked at each other and glared. Lenalee felt a bead of sweat form on her brow, not knowing how to deal with the two in front of her. "Well!" she said with great unease, "we could always split it up. Link and I will investigate the Innocence, since I've already searched the bog everywhere for them. Kanda, you go out and see if you can find something else that would help us find Allen-kun and Lavi. Is that okay?"

A heavy frown formed on his features, but he nodded anyways.

"Good," she said, then turned to Link. "Go on ahead of me-- I wish to speak to Kanda."

"Can't I just stay h--?"

"I wish," she said in a more defiant tone, "to speak to Kanda. Will you please leave us a few moments to ourselves? Thank you."

The man seemed agitated, but he said nothing and walked away, leaving the two to their own little world of being Exorcists. Lenalee stared at the ground for a moment, as if trying to figure out what she was going to say, then looked back up at him. "Listen, Kanda. If you _do_ happen to find Allen-kun, do not, I repeat, _do not, _tell Link of it. Allen-kun wants to find Lavi so badly. You know this, I know this… I'm pretty sure everyone knows how worried Allen-kun is. And if you tell Link…" Her eyes gazed at some of the buildings, particularly the windows. "…If you tell Link, Allen-kun will have to leave, and he'll be worried sick…"

"Che." Kanda's hand gripped Mugen a bit tighter out of agitation. "I know what you're trying to say. When I find that damned bean sprout of an old man, I have to hide him from the Inspector long enough so that he can find Moyashi."

"Will you do that for me?"

He growled, frowned, scowled, glared, then sighed. "…Fine."

A look of relief came over her face. "Thank you, Kanda."

"Che. Go find the Innocence already."

She nodded, then caught up to Link quickly and waved at him, wishing him good luck. Luck had nothing to do with his sense of self-- he did everything with skill. If he was going to find Moyashi, luck was not going to aid him.

_Well then. _He glared at a person who accidentally bumped into him. The person apologized and immediately made a run for it afterwards. Kanda sighed. _Where to start…_

* * *

Lilith had gone out to the cranberry fields once more, which left Lavi and Carroll alone in the same building. Together. All alone. In a deserted bog with possibly no neighbors (or rather, none that Lavi knew of that existed) around. Just the very thought of that kid, that creepy little boy wandering out and about within the same house, made shudders go down his spine and his heart leap up in his chest.

Lavi couldn't believe it, but he was afraid of a kid.

A little kid, no less-- One of the age of eight or so.

_Fuck, I'm supposed to be better than this. Get yourself together, Lavi! _He frowned and bit his lower lip, swinging his legs as he sat in the chair near the window. The rain from earlier had tapered off and the sun was finally starting to break through (just barely) the clouds. The window wasn't open, but he could still smell the bog and all of its pleasures. Panic seeped into his system-- He knew the kid hated him, and it was obvious that he, even though it made no sense, was going to try to kill him, no matter what. He took in a deep breathe, then sighed.

The worst, he figured, was probably over. He relaxed a little in his chair until there was a loud crash and bang, followed by a yell and then sobs. Lavi calmed himself down before he uneasily stepped onto the wooden floor and felt his way around the room to find the door out of the room. He walked down the stairs and towards where he heard the sobs. They were undoubtedly from Carroll, and by the sounds of it, he hurt himself really bad.

He drew closer and closer until he was (judging by the fact that the kid wasn't cursing him out or anything) close behind him. "Are you okay?"

Carroll sobbed a little quieter before turning and seeing the Fallen One standing before him with a genuine look of worry on his face. _A __**PlOY. He'S**__ TryInG To __**TrICK**__ me… _He made an affirmative sound before standing up. _Fight __**FiRE**__ with __**FiRE… **__i __**wiLL**__ tRick it __**Back**_**. **

"Mister," he started in a very sad and scared tone of voice. It was that tone he used against his father once to get him a cookie a long, long time ago. One would call it the 'pleading' emotion, but Carroll didn't grasp emotions well, so he just called it his 'sadness mild' emotion. "Mister, I was trying to get a blanket from the highest shelf in the closet… The chair tipped, and I fell. Even Mama said I have no sense of balance."

_Oh… So he tilted it while trying to reach it, then fell? _Lavi frowned. _This sounds pretty believable… But I don't know if I can trust him or not. He did, after all, beat me up pretty badly… Hmm… _His mind wracked over and over again, trying to assess the situation at hand. He wanted to believe the kid. He really did. There was just no way he could be lying. His heart told him to believe, but his gut said otherwise.

His heart won.

"Do you want me to get it for you?" he asked politely. "You'll have to guide me towards the closet, but I'm pretty sure I can reach the blanket for you."

Carroll's eyes sparkled with something crossed with excitement and deviousness, but he did not allow his voice to convey the same emotions. "W-Would you really?"

"Yeah, sure," Lavi said, feeling around the wall. "Where's the closet?"

_**PeRFeCT. **__IT __**FeLL **__FoR IT. _Carroll grabbed him by the wrist and led him to the closet. Lavi's hand felt around it for a moment, memorizing every measurement there was and every detail his hands could feel before nodding.

"Okay, tell me where the shelf is."

Carroll backed away quietly as his voice filled in the necessary gaps. "A little higher."

"Here?" Lavi felt around the shelf but couldn't come up with anything. There was only moth balls and a spare pair of shoes that were made of cow leather.

Carroll backed up a little bit more and made his voice louder so that it would sound as if he were still standing in the same spot. His hands delicately reached for the knife that resided in a can filled with other useful kitchen utensils. The knife itself was bought a while ago, or so his mother said. She said that it was made from German steel. He did not like Germany. Germany had so many things wrong with it in his personal opinion, aside from their good-quality food. But he had met a German man once and, due to his actions, he had forever been against their way of life. "A few more shelves up."

Lavi felt around as Carroll pulled the knife carefully without making a noise. The redhead still could not find the said-blanket that Carroll was trying to reach for. His hand, as Carroll saw, was moving towards an item, which was a bucket, that was too close to the edge of the shelf. One accidental nudge, and the bucket would fall down, down, down, until it reached the wooden floor. He grinned widely at the thought. Once the bucket would fall, he would make his move. "A little closer-- Ah!"

"Wha--?"

Lavi's hand knocked against the bucket and it fell to the floor with a heavy 'thud'. It almost grazed Lavi's toes, but luckily, it missed them. He groaned and bent down to pick it up.

Carroll took five steps forward in brisk motion as Lavi's hand just touched the handle of the bucket. The knife raised above his head, and, with one swift motion, connected on the back of Lavi's head with great force. Of course, Carroll didn't want blood on the floor, so he did the next-best thing and hit him over the head with the handle.

_Ow…? _The redhead fell to the floor without another thought. His eyebrows were furrowed into an expression of pain for a few seconds before relaxing into the state of unconsciousness. Carroll was pleased with himself as he placed the knife back where it belonged and found the five ropes that his mother kept in one of the kitchen drawers. He bound the man's wrists together, then his ankles, then gagged him.

_**PeRFEcT.**_

He dragged the redhead across the floor by the wrists and out the back door and headed towards a remote spot amongst the bog-trees. His father built a shed there a long, long time ago and no longer used it. His parents possibly even forgot about it, which was fine by him-- all the more easier to dispose of the Fallen One. He became giddy as the thought of his accomplishing his mission for God sank into his head.

He opened the door to the shed and dragged the redhead into it, leaving him on the floor. The man couldn't see, so there was no use of a blindfold. Instead, he would leave this Fallen One in the small, isolated building where no one would find him and let him starve slowly and painfully.

Quickly, he took all sharp objects out of the building-- rusted knives, saws, and more things of that nature. He made sure of it that there was no spare food or water in there, or a key to unlock the door. He did, however, make sure that there was a padlock on the inside and locked it into place. He slipped the key into his pocket before crawling out the only window the structure had. Finally, he took the second padlock and locked the door from the outside as well and slipped that key in his pocket.

The only way to possibly escape was by the window, and that was if one was capable of even moving.

He giggled to himself. He was not going to let the Fallen One have it easy. He would torment it as much as he could until it died. His grin widened. 'Died'. That was such a pleasant-sounding word to him, the way it chimed around his brain and echoed off of his skull's walls. A Fallen One, dying.

He couldn't wait for it to happen.

As he walked home, he began to sing a different tune with some familiar words: _"Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, the ropes bind you to all the things you lack. No food to eat, not even a bit of meat, as the knife that carves Fate stabs you in the back. Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, there was no white to begin with when it faded to black."_

He hummed the tune as he went back to his room and wrote a poem, waiting for his mother to get back home, which he knew wouldn't be for a while yet.

He was going to have so much fun in exterminating the Fallen One.

He just knew it.

* * *

Just over nine (thousand) pages! Woo-hoo, a longer chapter! So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! (I have ten reviews now-- It's amazing~ I didn't think anyone would like this story! Thank you so very much! ^.^ Also, I have nothing against the Germans. That's just how Carroll thinks… .; ) See you in, wow, Chapter 8! --K.S.


	8. Broken Wings

Heya hey! Welcome to Chapter 8 of 'Linked'! So, I finally got inspired due to my fans and, well, er, I'm gonna try and see if I can write an actual book. Yeah! I know, crazy, right? It may star our beloved Carroll and all his creepiness. I'm going to try and write it in thirty days, starting May the 1st. Wish me luck! Well, with that aside, let us commence forthwith with Chapter 9 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

* * *

8. Broken Wings

Everything was sore. He couldn't feel his right hand, and he didn't know why. He was blind, but he knew there was some light. There had to be some, he couldn't have been stuck in utter darkness for so long. He wouldn't have been able to bear it if were. His back ached with an unfamiliar pain that he had. Where was it coming from?

_Where… am I?_

His left hand grabbed at something, something that felt warm but wet at the same time. His hand reeled back as the thing screamed, screamed loudly in the manner that the kid whom he disliked so much. It didn't stop even as he got to his feet and started to try to talk to whatever it was. It didn't listen to him when he asked for it to stop. Instead, the thing swatted him across the face, causing him to land on something sharp. By his guess, it was broken pieces of glass.

The thing screeched louder, which caused the apprentice Bookman to clasp his left hand over one of his ears. The right absolutely refused to move no matter how hard he tried. He was an open target as the thing seemed to flap.

_Flapping? A bird…? _He moved his hand away from his ear as a gust of wind came from nowhere and seemed to tear at his skin. His cheeks, once the gust was gone, dripped with a red liquid that ran down his chin and to the floor or ground or whatever he was standing on beneath him. It screamed again, then unexpectedly stopped, which caused a pause that was far too long for the redhead's liking. There was a sound of wings moving, then another cry of something inhuman, then silence as Lavi fell to his knees.

Something inside him was moving. It was painful and made him want to cry out for someone. He clasped at one of his shoulders before yelling something, possibly a name, but he couldn't hear his own voice anymore. Everything was deaf to him. He couldn't even remember his own name.

_Ow, ow, ow! What the hell is this?! Why does my back…!?_

He cried out loudly again before his back had a sudden splitting feeling. It cut down to his heart and he felt, for a moment, as if every nerve in his system was being torn into five separate pieces.

His eyes, the same blind eyes, opened up slowly to see a mirror below him that was splattered and stained with blood, but he could still make out his reflection amongst it. His eyes had blood-tears running down his cheeks, his fingers were longer than normal, and his wings… He stared at the reflection a bit longer before his left hand clasped at one of the black, feathery pieces of matter that were attached to his back.

He didn't want to see that. He didn't want to feel that. It was painful, the way there was light everywhere. He wanted to go somewhere away from the light and away from everything he knew and even away from his friends.

His hand rose to break the mirror. It was glass. It was fragile. It would break easily, one punch, and he would fall, and he knew it.

"…_LAVVVVIIIIII!"_

His hand stopped.

Everything stopped.

It was gone in a flash. The reflection, the mirror, the blood. It was all replaced with a feeling of being awake and alive. His eyes had fallen blind again. He breathed heavily out of relief. For a moment, it seemed as if he had forgotten who he was. Now, he remembered that he was Lavi and not whoever that was. _That was just a dream… But who was that saying my name?_

He tried to move his hands but couldn't. He blinked once, then realized that he couldn't move at all.

_Fuck. That kid did get the best of me, again! _He growled through his gag and glared at nothing, but it felt good to glare at that moment. _He really thinks I'm whatever he thinks I am. A Fallen Angel or whatever. Fallen One? Yeah, that's what it is… _

He sniffed around a little. Judging by the smells, he was somewhere that was old or run-down, but the bog-smell still reached his nose as well. So he was still there. Knowing an eight-year-old kid, he was probably even close to wherever he lived as well. There was no way a kid, even as strong as Carroll was, could drag him or carry him that far without getting exhausted.

The question now was, what was he thinking? If Carroll really wanted to kill him, then he could have taken something sharp and stabbed him in the back while he was trying to find that supposed blanket in the closet. So maybe that kid wasn't a sociopath, after all. He doubted that the kid had ever taken a life before, anyways. A new sociopath? Or maybe he was just blind in the fact that he thought he was doing something good for the world by killing him…

Lavi groaned. He didn't know what to think of him anymore. Crazy or not, Carroll was still a kid. He couldn't hurt a kid unless they were an Akuma, and that was the only way he would even think about it. He would have to figure out a way to break the kid away from his delusional fantasy.

But there was the obvious question that rested in his mind-- How? He couldn't talk anymore, what with the rope and all. He groaned once more, annoyed, then tried to free his hands.

_Oh, right. _He thought as he tried to move his right hand. _It's paralyzed. I can't move it at all… Fuck! So what am I going to do now?! Lay around and hope someone will find me?! I sure as hell ain't going to do that! _

He swallowed hard.

_Well, what else can I do? I'm useless right now. I can't do anything…_

Something that sounded like a bird caused him to jump a little.

_Shit. Lenalee… Yuu-chan… Allen… Please, one of you… This time, I can't do it by myself anymore. _He moved his left hand a bit, but couldn't get it free. _Help me._

* * *

The sounds of a piano drew him in. He didn't know why, but pianos spoke to him quite well. They were… enchanting, to say the very least. None of the others, not even that girl named Jenna, seemed to care about it. None of them paid the very least bit of attention to it. He, however, had even stopped cleaning to listen in on it.

He walked slowly out of the room, curiosity getting the best of him, as the piano suddenly stopped and was replaced by the unpleasant sound of yelling. His Mistress was angry at someone or something, he couldn't tell what. There was a loud crash, a thud, then silence. Mutters were heard from where he stood, all from his Mistress's mouth, saying how worthless the thing was. He creaked open the door to see a doll, one that was like him, talking to the Mistress in a fearful sort of voice.

"P-Please, I swear I'll do b-better next time--"

Abigail raised her hand and slapped the doll across the cheek with great force, one that was hard enough to make Allen flinch a little. "This is the fourth time you made a mistake, Sierra!" He could hear her say, then another slap was heard. He couldn't see his Mistress completely, but he did see the hand swat the doll-like girl. "How many times have I _told_ you to not disturb me when playing the piano?!"

That caused Allen to back away from the door a bit, but the nag to know what was going to happen next kept him close to the door.

"I-I'm so sorry--"

There was the sound of a clap, one that a book would make when it's being slammed onto a table, and the sound of something being erased vigorously. Allen's eyes widened as he watched the doll-like girl shriek loudly and curl up in pain. She started to flop like a fish, gagging and begging and pleading for her Mistress to stop, and then it was over. The doll, Sierra, became silent after her head managed to turn and look at Allen. Her eyes were unmoving in an eerie way.

"Honestly, this one ticks me off. No matter how many personalities I make for her, she always messes up in such a way…" She grabbed the doll by the hair and dragged her off through another door. Allen swallowed hard, not knowing whether or not what he wanted to do was right, then stepped out from behind the door and entered the door across the way that his Mistress had entered.

It was dark, barely any light, as Allen walked down the old stairway and followed his Mistress to an even-darker room. He could barely see anything in front of him, which scared him even more. Then a candle, two, ten, twenty, to even fifty candles were lit, and the room glowed with light. He hid behind the wall of the entry way, but he was able to see just enough to know what was going on.

What he saw horrified him.

There were many cages, some of which contained doll parts, some of which contained outfits and various other fabric-like things, and others that contained dolls like him, but their eyes were out of focus and there body parts seemed broken. Several of them had whole limbs torn off and were still bleeding out.

He did a double-take.

_B-Blood? T-The ones in the cages… Are humans?! _

Abigail hummed a little song as she placed the limp doll onto a table and pulled out a knife, one that looked like a doctor would use, and began to cut the left arm off. Blood began to spill from the wound and onto the floor. The smell lingered up in the air and made Allen want to run back upstairs, but his eyes couldn't look away, not even for a moment to recover.

She took the left arm and began to peel the flesh off, then the fat, all the way down to the bone. She hummed louder as she dumped the bone in a bucket of water before dragging the girl off the table and dragged her towards one of the cages. She placed her in there and re-locked the door before sighing and wiping off her blood-covered hands.

Allen was going to be sick.

Abigail walked slowly towards the bucket and pulled out the soaking bone of the left arm and whistled as she pulled out a piece of paper and rested it on the table. She broke off one of the fingers-- the pointer finger --and rested it off to one side. She then opened a drawer that was in the desk and pulled out several more bones. One was carved into an arm. Two were carved into what looked like to be legs, and the final piece was made into a head.

_She… uses bones to make the smaller dolls…?! _Allen's thoughts made him scared as she hummed along and carved the newly-cut-off finger into another arm. _How… How can she do that?! Mistress is a… is a…_

He couldn't finish his thought as his Mistress suddenly turned her head to where he was watching from. He ducked his head and pressed his back up against the wall, trying to calm down his breathing. He could hear her footsteps drawing closer, which made more adrenaline pump into his system and caused him to lose control of his breathing.

"Whose there?" she asked as she stepped closer to the door. "Show yourself!"

Allen was about to move when a hand shoved him back to his hiding space.

"It's me, Richard."

Allen heard the footsteps stop. "Richard? Why are you down here?"

The solemn boy closed his eyes and his head bowed slightly. "My apologies to disturb you, but it is almost time for you to go to the marketplace. I did not want you to be later than you are right now."

She seemed to chuckle as Allen relaxed. He could hear her walking back to where she came from. "Yes, of course. Thank you, Richard. Make sure to close the door on your way out."

Richard bowed, then closed the door and grabbed Allen by the wrist. "You mustn't go down there anymore," he said as they proceeded up the stairs in a hurried manner. "Mistress Abigail, even though she loves dolls, can be quite irate if she finds one of you lurking about in her private chambers, and especially that one." There was a pause as Richard glanced over his shoulder to see Allen biting his lower lip. "…Listen, Allen. If you do your best, that won't happen to you."

Silence ensued as they managed to get out of the stairway and back into the main room. Richard closed the door behind him as he grabbed Allen by the collar. "Listen to me," he said in a firm tone of voice. "You are not to go back down there, ever. You will not speak of it. You will not think of it. You will act as if you never say a thing. Do you understand me? Because if not, you are going to be the next one to be thrown into the cages."

He nodded slowly, but didn't quite understand what Richard meant, despite how clear his language was.

"Good. Now, go back into the room where Sylvia and Willow and the others are-- It's almost time for the market."

Allen nodded again and returned to the room. Sylvia and Willow were now playing a game of cards with Seth, and the Jenna-doll was still sitting there, staring at the flame that the candle on the small desk was producing. A thought him then-- _Why do her children allow her to do such a thing?_

His brain wracked over it, despite the fact that Richard told him to do otherwise, and frowned. He didn't understand at all.

The door opened wide and hit the wall with a mighty 'slam'. Abigail stood there, dressed in lavender and pink. She wore a white sun hat that had a lavender ribbon that wrapped around it. In her hands was a purple parasol. She smiled at her children and then at her dolls. "Allen Walker, Jenna Collier! It's time to follow me to the market."

Jenna was, surprisingly, the first to rise from her seat and motioned Allen to also do so, but he was plastered to the spot at the sight of his Mistress. The more he thought the less he understood about anything that was happening.

"Allen?"

He snapped out of his state and smiled sheepishly at his Mistress. "S-Sorry. I'm coming."

She smiled sweetly at him as she opened up her parasol and stepped outside, a big-looking bag slung over her shoulder. He and Jenna, along with several others that were like them, followed her out into the crowded street and towards their destination. In an instant, people from the crowd began to follow her as she continued onwards. He could hear the chatter among them, which made him at unease.

"Momma, Momma! It's that lady again! Can we get a doll this time?"

"She's been increasingly popular nowadays. Maybe I should get one."

"Doesn't anyone know where she lives?"

Allen swallowed hard. These people had no clue of as to what she made the dolls out of. The thought of him being made by the same material made him die a little inside as a sudden gust of wind came by and blew off his top hat.

"Ah--!"

He couldn't chase after it. The crowd was too big to even push pass. Abigail looked back to see him absent without it and smiled as she pulled out a new one and placed it on his head. "There, now," she said as Allen tried not to flinch away. "See to it that you don't lose this one to the wind as well."

He thanked her quietly as she smiled sweetly before turning back and walking towards the marketplace. He couldn't help but look back to see where his old top hat had gone, but it was nowhere to be seen amongst the crowd. He figured someone must have picked it up.

He followed along quietly as they walked by an old man singing an eerie tune--

"_One beat, two beats, three beats, four. We are the Children of a lonely store. We cannot hear you, we cannot see you, we can only yearn to be human once more…"_

* * *

He didn't do much so as to ask people around if they had seen a redheaded-idiot or a teenager with white hair before he got bored and decided it was time to eat something. He didn't know why Lenalee thought he would be able to find anything if she couldn't. It was possible that she was thinking a fresh set of eyes would do their rescue-search some good, but as it turned out, it didn't.

His 'search' wound him up at the edge of the bog. It was pretty large-- it extended beyond his horizon line. He frowned as he looked at a sign that was partially hidden by trees:

"_NEXT TOWN: 45 MILES (KNOWN AS THE "BOG TOWN")_

_PLEASE REMEMBER TO NOT LITTER THE BOG. THANK YOU."_

He frowned. The thought of walking across forty-five miles worth of bog did not sound appealing to him at all. He would need Lenalee's help to get there in a quick and logical amount of time, otherwise, he could end up walking around aimlessly for days. His frown deepened as he turned around and walked back towards the center of the town. He would have to figure how to persuade Link to allow her to do that, though, without him there.

_Che. This is more tedious than dealing with Komui on a bad day._

He kicked around at the dirt as he noticed the sun was sinking far too deeply for his liking. He would have to continue searching tomorrow and return to the inn for the day. Hopefully, Lenalee and Link would have already been there so that he could discuss his plans with them.

He kicked a rock which hit something that he didn't expect to find on the street-- A top hat. It looked worn from being stepped on and lying on the dirt. He picked it up, annoyed that someone would leave something like a top hat on the ground for him to see. He was about to throw it away when he noticed a small, silver hair on the black fabric inside. He pulled it out and immediately recognized it: _Fuck, this is Allen's hair!_

He turned around and called out his name, but there was no response. He grimaced. The idiot was probably in danger. There was no way he would wear a top hat, unless prompted by Lenalee to do so. He frowned deeper as he decided to keep the top hat in his hand and looked around more. There was no sign of a midget with white hair that was actually a teenager who went by the name of Allen Walker.

_Che. I'll show this to Lenalee, then we can see what we can do from here on out. I just hope she didn't do anything stupid, like getting lost…_

He proceeded to the inn as people moved away from him and his glare. His thoughts continued despite him not wanting them to.

…_Or getting hurt, for that matter._

* * *

Enh. That was an okay chapter. But! Aside from that! So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! It is very greatly appreciated! See you all later in Chapter 9! (Crap, this is gonna be like 'Niveous Sky' and turn out to be twenty or so chapters…) --K.S.


	9. Lackluster Emotions

Hah. Chapter 9 has arrived! To tell you the truth, I have no clue what I'm doing. I can't figure out what's gonna happen next… It's sad, really… Oh well~ Enough of me blabbering and taking up your time. Let us commence forthwith with Chapter 9 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is the property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better by now. We've been doing this for nine chapters.

~X~

9. Lackluster Emotions

The air was too frigid. She could see her own breathe the moment they entered the shop. She remembered that it hadn't been that cold before, but somehow, the temperature managed to drop about twenty degrees in the course of three hours. She shivered as she turned back to Link. "This is where we were earlier before Allen-kun managed to disappear," she said. Her eyes watered when she walked into a spider web- one of the strands managed to brush against her eye. She wiped the forming liquid away before double-checking everything.

"I don't see how he managed to disappear aside from running away," Link commented. "There's nothing really here except spider webs and dust…"

Lenalee wasn't paying attention to him. She checked under the desks and the counters again, making sure that nothing was out of place, then sighed. He was right- There was nothing there. No matter how many times she would look, it would have the same results as last time- Absolutely nothing.

_Oh, Allen-kun… Where could you have gone?_

She stared down at the floor for a long moment, then blinked. She inspected the floor more carefully before a sudden realization dawned on her. "Link!" she cried, grabbing him by the wrist. "Let me see the bottom of your shoes."

He gave her a puzzled look before sighing and taking one of his shoes off. She took it from his hands, looking at the pattern, then looked down on the floor. The dust that had collected over the years actually left their footprints. She checked around and confirmed her theory- There were more than three different sets of footprints there. She walked towards the furthest back wall and saw that there was little to no dust there and blinked.

_I knew the shop looked bigger from the outside…!_

She activated her Innocence, which attracted Link's confused and undivided attention, and kicked repeatedly at the wall. It shuddered at first, but after a while, her foot managed to pierce right through it, creating a small hole that revealed a dark space behind it.

"Link, help me take down this wall," she said as she continued to kick at it.

He stared at her for a moment and took out a few seals as she pushed her away. "Allow me," he said, then placed the seals up against the wall. Flames spouted from them, causing the wall to burn to ash. There was a long stairway that was hidden behind the wall, one that led down into the darkness. Lenalee frowned. She made a misconception earlier on when Allen disappeared- He more than likely fell through the wall.

But how? She didn't even notice that it existed until she saw the footprints. It didn't make any sense.

Quietly, she led the way and stepped down onto one of the steps, Link following behind her obediently. Her hands searched around the walls to see if there was a guard rail, but she came up with nothing and had to rely on her instincts so that she wouldn't slip and fall. The stairs continued onwards for approximately five minutes until she reached the bottom and sighed in relief. Link, however, had slipped on the tenth-to-last step and collided into her, causing a loud 'thud'.

Panic seized her. That noise could have exposed their location, and worse yet, it could have been a Noah that heard them for all they knew. The moment Link got off of her was the moment she took to try and find the door. Her hands found the cold doorknob and turned it with great ease to reveal a darkened hall. She could not tell how long it extended to.

"Do you have any source of light?" she asked quietly.

The Inspector pulled out another seal and activated it, causing flames to billow out and manage to hit every candle wick within the long corridor. She blinked in amazement. She knew that the Inspector was good at his job, she just never knew _how_ good.

Her eyes scanned the area. There were several doors, along with a huge double-door at the end of the hall. She grimaced. Despite the fact that it seemed like no one was there, it was very possible that someone was lurking behind them. She approached the door in a cautious manner and opened it. The door made a squeaking noise, but she no longer cared when her eyes fell upon something familiar.

Lying on the floor, looking as though it were discarded for whatever the reason, was Allen's Exorcist uniform, down to the shoes.

Her eyes couldn't help but widen at the sight. She grabbed them up off of the floor and searched for one of the buttons, any of the buttons, and tore it off. On the back of it confirmed it. There, engraved in the back of the round, silver object, was a name- '_Allen Walker'_.

_He was here. _She looked around as Link came in. _But why would he discard his Exorcist uniform? That doesn't make any sense, unless…_ She stood up, the shirt still in her hands. _…Unless he was either forced to or someone else took it off for him. _A blush crept on her face as she shook her head furiously. _No, no! Stop thinking like that, Lenalee! Now is definitely not the time, and there is no way Allen-kun would do that! _

"That's his uniform, isn't it."

Lenalee snapped out of her thought processes and turned towards the slightly-annoyed man. She blinked, as if taking a double-take, then nodded. "Y-Yes."

"Hn." The man frowned, then took several steps towards a coat rack. His fingers filed through it before he turned back to her. "Guessing by the amount of outfits here, I say he wasn't the first one to stumble in on this place. Most of them look like children's outfits…"

_The missing children. _Lenalee's grip on Allen's uniform grew tighter as she bit her lower lip. _This is where they are, aren't they? The locals said that none of them had come back yet… Then, whatever happened to the children happened to Allen-kun? But he wouldn't be that easy to…_

"Let's check the other rooms," the Inspector said, which once again interrupted her thoughts. She nodded and stored the uniform away in her bag before leaving the room.

They opened the next door, which was revealed to be what looked like a bedroom. There was a bed, a desk, a closet, and a variety of other things. There was not, however, any windows, which made it feel like a prison. The next three rooms they checked looked exactly the same as the first- A bed, a desk, a closet, a variety of other things, all in the same spots. The only thing that was different was the room's location.

The only doors left they had yet to inspect was the final double-door at the end of the corridor. She hesitated as they stood before it. So far, they had yet to run into anyone, or rather, they were getting lucky and they had yet to find anyone who would have called them out by now.

She contemplated whether or not she kick down the doors, then decided to not. Her hand turned the handle and opened both the doors. They collided into the walls after gliding gracefully out of the way.

The room that laid before them was a complete and utter mess. She could not believe that anyone could have lived safely there. She spotted several needles as she walked through, making sure that her feet were touching the very few clear patches of floor. The piano in the corner somehow reminded her of Allen and the Ark, but nothing more came of it as she inspected it further. Fabric and pattern pieces scattered the floor as well. There were no signs of anyone there.

"Odd."

Lenalee turned to see Link inspecting one of the several doors that was attached to the room. She blinked at him, confused, as his hand tried to turn the door knob once more. When it wouldn't budge, he sighed. "The rest of the doors have not been locked except for this one. Something tells me something important is hidden behind here…"

"You already checked the rest of the rooms?"

He nodded. "There's nothing much but a lot of board games and books. You can look for yourself, if you want. That one there is a kitchen. The dishes on the counter are cold, as are the pots, so they left a while ago if someone lives here." He frowned. "The problem is, do we risk trying to search around for anything? If you kick down the door and the owner of this place comes back, we would be cornered. We could always do a stake-out and wait until tomorrow…"

She bit her lower lip as the chances for finding Allen was dwindling before her eyes. How could it be? She had found his uniform. He had to have been there recently, he had only been missing for a short while. Her expression turned into a grimace as she turned to Link.

"Stand back. I'm going to kick down the door."

~X~

He had accidentally tipped over his mother's ink bottle when she came home. The towel in his hands were soiled with the black substance as he glanced at her. She was carrying a massive load of fresh cranberries on her back as she smiled at him. "Hey, Carroll," she said, putting the load down. "Would you like to make me some cranberry treats?"

He never liked his mother's cranberry treats. Something always went wrong be it her burning the dough or adding one too many eggs. She was not that great of a cook, which saddened him, because his father was such a great cook but he was never home except for… He counted the days in his head and relief hit him. His father would be coming home later that evening. He nodded regardless.

"Great." She started to fetch some of the cranberries before stopping. "Wait, where's Mr. Lavi? Mr. Lavi! Come down, I'm going to make some food for us!"

When silence responded, she turned to Carroll out of curiosity. "Where's Mr. Lavi?"

"Out."

She blinked. "Out? Out where?"

He pointed to the bog. "Left several hours ago. Better off that way. Fallen One's don't belong here, Mama. Don't bother looking for him."

Her eyes gazed out the window as a look of worry crossed her features. She knew that the man would not be able to do well with those eyes and his paralyzed arm. It was hard to trek through the place even with normally-functioning body parts. She huffed and changed boots. "I'm going out, Carroll. And for the love of God, when he comes back, don't call him a 'Fallen One' again. He's not a Fallen Angel. Remember to stay inside once it gets dark." And so she left.

_MaMa iS **BliNd**. __ShE **caNNoT **_**_SEE _**_hiS _**_Evil_.** Carroll watched his mother walk through the bogged-down land and frowned, rocking back and forth. _I **must **__DO s**OmetHInG **__AbOut__ It._

He grabbed a small knife, some black paint in a jar, a paint brush, and a large bucket of water. He needed to take care of it himself. He walked around out back to where the forgotten shed was and climbed through the window after putting everything through it first. Lavi wasn't- or rather, he couldn't be -moving, but his head flinched when he heard the boy's voice speak.

"Hello, Fallen One," he said, smiling. "Can you hear me?"

Lavi glared but he was glaring in the wrong direction. His words were muffled by the piece of rope that was in his mouth, and the action to hurt the little boy was restrained by the knots. He knew that. He giggled.

"I take that as a yes. Mr. God has sent me on a mission to kill you, you know." He dipped the paint brush in the black paint before grabbing Lavi by the hair and dragging him towards the bucket. He knew he could have just grabbed the bucket and dragged it closer to him, but the more the Fallen One was in pain, the more happy God would be. "And kill you I will, once you pay for all the shameless deeds you have done."

Lavi's eyes, despite how blind they were, gave him a look of "what are you talking about". Carroll paid no attention to that as he shoved Lavi's head under the water, holding it there until he saw the bubbles coming out less and the thrashing weakening, and pulled him out. The redhead was coughing loudly through the piece of rope.

"How does it feel, Fallen One?" he yelled as he kicked the man back into a wall. _"How does it feel? _Your wings are clipped, yes, yes, _yes! _But that's not enough for _all_ you have done, you miserable, worthless _cretin!"_

He tore off the gag and grabbed to paint brush and, before Lavi had a chance to speak, shoved the bristly object into his mouth, painting the inside with the black, disgusting liquid. Some of it dripped down the side of Lavi's mouth as Carroll kept it there until he grabbed the piece of rope and tied it around his mouth again. Lavi couldn't spit the vile taste out. He winced in disgust as he was forced to swallow it down.

Carroll was laughing, loud and proud, as his torture victim writhed lightly from everything. "I'm not done with you yet, Fallen One. Did you think you could slither away like the traitor that you are? Traitor! Traitor! _Traitor!"_

Lavi's mind began to kick into over-drive. He couldn't wait for his friends to arrive, not under the conditions that were in place.

_But what am I gonna do? _His mind raced as he heard a 'shing' sound- A knife? -and Carroll's footsteps drawing closer. _There's nothing here, I can't do anything- __Ow!_

Carroll licked the blood that oozed from a cut to the left shoulder. The wound itself wasn't that deep- It wouldn't even scar. However, to see the Fallen One in pain was more than rewarding to him. Red stained the floor beneath him- only a little bit, though -which made Carroll's insane laughter increase by tenfold.

Something filled up Lavi's throat as his insides began to hate him. The paint from earlier was making him sick. Sweat formed on his brow as Carroll rested the blade on the tip of Lavi's nose. "Clickety-clack," he sang softly, his voice off-key. "Clickety-clack. I'll be there to stab you in the back. There was no white when it all faded to black, clickety-clack, clickety-clack, a Fallen One's wings clipped and can no longer flap."

_A… Fallen One…_

"Accept your fate," Carroll continued, dancing around him in a merry way. His voice even seemed far more chipper than the song that he had just sung. "Accept it. You're not getting out of here on my watch, _Fallen One!"_

_I have a name… It's Lavi… Call me Lavi…_

The redhead's eyes seemed lost in the midst of torments. He just wanted to pass out. Everything, even though he couldn't seem, felt like it was spinning. He felt like he was on a boat somewhere and that he had the worst case of sea sickness in the history of sea sickness. He didn't even cry out when Carroll's blade connected with his shoulder bone. He didn't want to anymore, he just wanted to pass out.

_Let me pass out and return to whatever I was dreaming. I don't wanna deal with this…_

Carroll's chanting went unheard as Lavi slipped out of consciousness, but that did not stop him even a bit, not until he saw his mother coming home from the window and forced him to retreat away from his newly-found and slightly-used toy.

**_I'll_**_ cOME uP wItH _**_sOMEtHinG_**_ latER tO _**_HuRT_**_ HIM. I _**_wILL_**_ I _**_wILL_**_ I _**_wILL. _**

~X~

The marketplace, despite how late it seemed, had many people walking through it. His Mistress, Abigail, had sold quite a bit of small dolls (especially to little girls. They were popular those days, and afterwards, she always made them sign the 'Guest List'), which seemed to make her happy despite the feelings of uncertainty rising up in Allen's throat. He had seen what those small, 'porcelain' dolls were made of. He saw with his very own eyes and yet every time he wanted to tell someone, he couldn't. Something deep inside him told him to obey his Mistress's wishes or else something very bad would happen.

He just couldn't pin-point how bad it would be if he did act out against her.

A man by the looks of his middle-thirties approached them, a smile visible even though his beard covered most of his chin. Allen paid no attention until Jenna tapped him slowly on the shoulder.

"He's been… staring at you for a while, now…" she remarked, her eye flicking about in an unsettling manner. "I think he might have a crush on you…"

"Wh-What?"

"…Kidding…" Her eye flicked in the direction of where the man was. He was talking to their Mistress in a casual manner. "The fire… long time ago… told me that joke… It was funny… to at least me…"

Allen glanced over at the man, who was still talking to his Mistress. He seemed like a fairly nice man. He had a big grin and nice, happy eyes. He also seemed to be well-fed and, by the looks of it, prized his hat more than anything. It seemed to have been recently cleaned. When the man pointed at him, Allen's eyes immediately went to the ground and to Jenna. She didn't even notice he was staring at her. She was too preoccupied talking to her still-lit candle.

"Allen," Abigail said as she approached the white-haired boy, "I want you to meet Charles. This man wishes to buy you. Are you quite all right with that?"

He contemplated for a long moment, which ensued a pause, before nodding. He figured the sooner he got out of there the better. He had no idea what was going to happen next if he'd stay there. But part of him wanted to stay to make sure all of them- Jenna, Richard, the others, and the ones in the cages -would be okay. He nodded again, however, and figured one day he would come back to help them. He didn't what was the source of his heroism, but he did know that it was just there.

"All right," the man said, then handed Abigail some money. "You're name's Allen? Very pleasant to meet you. I have a son whose younger than you by a few years, but I'm sure the two of you will get along."

"Is… that so?" Allen asked, following the man at a decent pace as he waved back to the others. Abigail waved back and Jenna just stared. She seemed to have that habit, to just stare.

"Sure," the man said, hefting up the bag higher over his shoulder. "He's a bit of a handle, but I'm certain you'll get along just fine. You are such an interesting doll. I didn't know dolls could walk these days."

"Does he have a name?" Allen asked, curious. "Your son, I mean."

"Sure, sure," the man nodded.

"What is it?"

"Carroll," the man replied, and the two continued on towards where the man's house was.

~X~

Woo-hoo! Chapter 9, done! And faster than expected (I'm getting good at this)! So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! And sorry for not answering the recent ones. I completely spaced. (I probably will respond to them by the time this chapter will come up.) See you in, wow, 10! -K.S.


	10. Follow the Leader

Nan desu yo! Kurokumo here. SAT's are officially done, my story is underway, and life is good if I weren't so tired. Ugh. I really need to stop staying up until three in the morning, but I can't seem to fall asleep these days. Weird… Even so! Let us commence forthwith with Chapter 10 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a bean sprout and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

~X~

10. Follow the Leader

The actual walk there wasn't so bad. Charles was a great talker- He explained every bit and detail of the bog and its counterparts that he lived on, how his wife was a cranberry farmer, how his son, Carroll, was apparently incredibly smart, how their neighbors were wonderful, and how thunderstorms were the coolest things in the world aside from top hats. He showed Allen the short-cut to getting to their home.

"It's about forty-five miles or so if you take the conventional way," he explained. "I found a way so much easier. It's called the unconventional way."

Allen wasn't one for laughing, but somehow, by the way this man had made his life like a happy game, he was smiling and laughing the entire way there. It was like he had an actual father, but he knew better. He was created by his Mistress Abigail, and therefore, he knew he wasn't human. It was the emotional aspect that threw him off more than anything. He thoughts that Dolls couldn't feel happy for whatever the reason.

They approached a house that was upon a patch of solid earth. It was small, but it looked like one's stereotypical cottage of some sort. Charles grinned widely as he opened the door to see his wife and Carroll eating cranberry treats. Carroll's eyes widened with delight.

"Dad!" he cried, jumping out from his seat and running towards the happy man. "Dad, dad, you're home!"

"It's not such a surprise," the man laughed. "I come home every Friday, just as I promised you. Oh! How terribly rude of me. Allen, come here."

The white-haired boy felt incredibly out of place as he entered through the door with a half-smile on his face. A better term to describe it would be a 'sheepish smile', but that didn't register in his mentality as he just continued to stand there, nervous as hell, as the man introduced everybody. "Carroll, this doll here is named Allen. Allen, this is my son, Carroll."

The boy was a small, bony lad. He had freckles covering his face, but he had a wide, toothy-grin that made his 'heart' melt a little inside. He had big, brown eyes, sunken cheek bones, and a mess of slightly-curled brown hair. His hands had black stains on them- Paint, maybe? -and he was wearing a pair of old overalls. His feet were stained with mud. "Allen," the boy repeated, then reached out and grabbed the doll by the hand.

Something sparked then, something… divine. Carroll looked up at the doll again and paused as his mouth turned into a small, tiny hole as his eyes widened. Allen was confused as Carroll let another smile reach his features.

"A _Divine One!"_ he cried in delight, which made his mother frown slightly. "Mama, Mama, this one is a Divine One! One loved by God himself!"

_'Divine One'? What's a Divine One?_ Allen thought, confused. _And why do I feel like I catch a familiar smell…? Something in here is smelling familiar, but what is it?_

"I'm glad you're home, honey," the woman said, smiling, then her smile fell to another frown. "The man we rescued, he's disappeared. The one you examined before you left for the week. Carroll said that he went out back to wandering into the bogs, but with that arm and his eyes in that shape, I fear for him. I tried to look for him…"

"When? Recently?" Charles asked, concerned.

She nodded. "About an hour ago."

"Hmm…" He looked out the window and frowned. "Storms have been forming all summer long. There's no way to make it out there… He may have to stop walking and stop for the night. I'll tell you what- I'll look for him in the morning. But for now, it's a little late. Did you happen to figure out his name?"

She nodded as Carroll was busy being fascinated by the new doll. "He said his name was Lavi," she said.

Allen's eyes snapped wide open at the sound of the name. Anxiety filled in him, and he couldn't pin-point the reason why. But for whatever the reason, that name, Lavi, was too familiar that he wasn't so sure what to do with himself. His thoughts were disrupted as Carroll showed him the way out of the room and gave him the tour of the house.

"Is that really a doll?" Lilith asked. "He looks… human."

"A living doll," the man nodded. "For a pretty cheap price at that, too. I figured Carroll would want something to keep him company when we were out working, you know?"

Allen followed the boy around the house as the tour was given. There was his room, his parent's room, the kitchen/dining room, the living room (which was basically the kitchen and dining room as well), the bathroom, and the guest room.

"It's recently been used," Carroll said. His nose turned up as he scowled in complete disgust. Allen blinked, confused. "A Fallen One, one opposite of you, has slept here… but he's been taken care of, or will be." He gazed out the window. "When I feel like finishing him… Do you want to sleep, Divine One? After all, it is getting late. Here, let me just get you a new blanket…"

"No, no, I'm sure it's fine," Allen replied, trying his best not to be rude. "It's strange… Even though I'm a doll, I feel rather tired. Isn't that what you humans do? Get really tired and what have you?"

Carroll stared at him for a long moment before grabbing his hand again. "Your hands are warm," he commented. "Are you sure you're a doll, Divine One? Because I'm certain dolls don't have warm hands."

Allen nodded. "I was created by my Mistress herself."

Carroll seemed to contemplate a moment longer before seeming to sigh. "Tomorrow, we have a lot to do. We have to exterminate a Fallen One for Mr. God. I kept him hidden away in the back of a shed that my Dad had built and forgotten about. It's exactly what it deserves, the way it betrayed God!" His hands smashed upon the table, which startled the white-haired doll to no end. "It's a betrayer! Betrayer, I tell you! A _betrayer!"_

He shrieked loudly as he grabbed a hold of the cloth of Allen's shirt. Allen's eyes widened as he backed into the wall, Carroll still having a grip upon his clothes. "Tomorrow," he continued, "we will torture it together. Do you hear me, Divine One? It is our mission! Our Holy mission from the Lord God himself! Do you understand? Wipe that look of fear off your face, it craves fear! _Craves_ it! Craves for human life to be splattered upon the books!"

He howled again while letting Allen go, enabling him to at least breath slightly normally again. The kid was definitely a lot to handle, to say the very least. He didn't know how the heck anyone would be able to talk to him, let alone live with him. Carroll stopped, turned, then left the room without another word. Allen caught the expression of agitation on his face for a split-second before the boy disappeared down the stairs.

_I assume it's safe to say that this child is not normal… _He sat down on the bed and kicked off his shoes while taking off his shirt to go to bed. _I still haven't figured out what a 'Divine One' is… Or what a 'Fallen One' is, for that matter… Well, better to not worry about it. If I worry, then I won't be doing my very best. It's my job to treat my new Master with utmost courtesy, like I did with my Mistress._

The thought of his Mistress made worry for the other 'human' dolls pitch in his stomach. He didn't want them to get mistreated or anything of the like. But what could he do? One fatal slip-up, one little mistake, and he could end up like that human. He rested his head on the pillow, slightly upset, and inhaled deeply and stopped abruptly. It was the same smell. He pushed himself up and picked up the pillow and inhaled again.

_"…llen… en! …ss… over…!"_

_W-What is this…? _Allen stared at the pillow for a few moments longer as the voices of a memory- Wait, memories? All of his memories were with his Mistress. He was only technically a day old. How could he be having memories?

_"…ou know… re… lik… u…"_

_"…got it…!"_

_"…ove, Allen! **MOVE!**"_

His eyes that he had been squeezing shut for the past twelve seconds snapped open as his breathing became harsh. Those could not have been his memories. Either his 'programming' was wrong or something, but those could not have been his memories. He didn't even know where they were coming from. Did his Mistress make a mistake while making him, or…?

He grimaced. All he cared at the moment was getting those strange voices out of his head for now. He tossed the pillow across the room and rested his head on the firm mattress, staring at the small, black shadows performing their ritual dance. He rolled over and faced the ceiling. He was tired, but he couldn't seem to fall asleep. Out of ideas, he covered his head with the blankets. He closed his eyes and sighed.

_"…I'm your friend, Allen. Of course you can trust me."_

_Stop it._ Allen shoved the blankets off of him as he rolled over and faced the wall. He stared at it in great discontent and frowned. _Stop it. Stop speaking in my head. I don't know you._

When silence greeted him, he relaxed greatly and hugged himself. He was slightly cold, but he would rather be cold than have voices talk to him in his head. He re-closed his eyes and fell into a nice, well-deserved sleep.

Downstairs, Carroll was in his room, gathering supplies for his next session with the Fallen One. This time, however, he had a Divine One on his side. For a Fallen One, being in the presence of a Divine One, face to face, was like stepping into a gasoline-filled fire while being made of nothing but twigs. He giggled at the thought and snooped around. He picked up a few sheets, his trusty knife, a couple of nails and a mallet. He put them all in a neat little pile and set them off in the corner of the room.

_**fiRST** ThiNg **ToMMoRow MoRNiNg**. _He thought to himself. His parents would be asleep still. They were utterly predictable for their sleep-schedules. If he woke up around five, he would have at least and hour or so to play.

Which would be absolutely _wonderful._

~X~

"This can't be. We tore down that door, and…"

However, the evidence was irrefutable. There was nothing but a slab of concrete that stood before them. Link shook his head as Lenalee stared at it, her foot slightly throbbing. Not even the power of her Dark Boots could penetrate it. It had to have been at least three feet thick, in which case. She grimaced. Any lead they had on Allen would now be gone. Once the owner of the house got back there, they would see what she had done, and whoever would be there would clear out.

"I know what you're thinking."

Lenalee looked up. Link was surveying the room in a professional manner. He turned to her after a moment, a semi-scowl semi-strict look upon his face. "I know you're thinking that we won't be able to catch the person that owns this place now that we have torn down the door." He turned back to the scene. "You should go back to the inn. I'm certain of it that Kanda is either looking for you or is sleeping. He glared at me the entire ride here- I bet he's exhausted, by now…"

"What?" Confusion struck her features. "You want me to go back to the inn? What about you?"

"I'll stay here and stake-out for the owner tonight," he replied. "If I find any clues on Walker, I'll be certain to tell you of it. If I find him, then we'll take him back to the inn and send him back home, just as Leverrier said."

"But-"

"Just as Leverrier said," he repeated, giving her a stern look. "Now go- I can handle this by myself."

She glared at his back and huffed angrily before making her exit. She climbed back up the stairs and out of the doll shop. The sun had far-long set, but that didn't surprise her at all. She walked back to the inn, the desire to sleep increasing with each step towards it. Perhaps Link was right. She should just go back to the inn.

She paused before the doorway and scowled at herself. That was a hell to the no, and she knew that. She had to formulate a plan, a strategy, something so that when they found Allen that he could go off and find Lavi. Link just didn't understand- no, Leverrier just didn't understand how important to Allen Lavi was. No one did. He needed him. He would do the same for anybody else.

She entered through the door of the inn, trying to keep a game face to prevent herself from crying. She didn't want to re-think the many possibilities that were flying through her mind, but that was occurring, anyways. She dreamt it. She feared it. And now, it could very well become a reality of they didn't work fast.

She walked up the stairs and proceeded into the room, tears welling up. By the time she opened the door, she was sobbing and was doing nothing to stop herself from doing otherwise. Kanda looked up from his spot on the floor and blinked, then frowned in utter annoyance. She knew he didn't like it when she cried. Kanda didn't like anything. Even so, she knew he was just as worried as she was about their two missing comrades.

"If you stop crying, I have something to show you," he muttered, frown deepening.

She blinked. "L-Like what?"

He scowled as he picked up a top hat from off of the floor and motioned her to come over. "Che. The stupid bean sprout was wearing this hat. There's a silver hair from his annoying head."

He left the building… "Where?" she asked.

"By the marketplace." He frowned. "I was going to head through the bog to get to the next town, but it's a forty-five mile walk from here to there. I figured somebo-"

"Town?" she repeated, shocked by the information. "What town?"

He stared at her as if he weren't comprehending what she was saying. "Che. The town that's forty-five miles away from the marketplace. There's a sign partially hidden by a tree there."

There was a pause as Lenalee, for the first time since Lavi disappeared, felt relief swell up in her heart. A town. A place of civilization. There had to be somebody who found him, there had to be. She smiled briefly as she picked up the top hat. The theory that Lavi was okay was now officially a valid one, whereas he whereabouts of Allen was still a mystery.

"Tomorrow morning," she said, "we're going to find them. I'm going to see if I can find Lavi anywhere and you will scout around the town and see if Allen-kun is anywhere the vicinity of where you found the top hat. Does that sound good?"

Kanda nodded. "Che. I'm tired. I'm going to sleep."

She smiled faintly at him as he crawled onto the closest bed and fell asleep.

_Don't worry. We'll find you two. I promise._

~X~

_"Hey, Lavi. I have a question…"_

The redhead looked up, confused. _"What? A question? You're asking me a question? Hold on a sec, lemme just…" _He put down the stack of newspapers and smiled briefly at him. _"What is it?"_

Allen stared down at the floor for a long moment as he chewed his lower lip. _"Actually, I'm in more of a need for your advice."_

Now this was interesting. Allen Walker, asking him for advice? Unprecedented. _"Sure, why not? What's the issue?"_

There was a heavy silence as Allen's eyes darted to the window, his hands slightly shaky. The brow of his forehead was sweating, his bottom lip was being especially worked on for chewing. He swayed back in forth in the slightest motions, but Lavi could still see him do so, anyways. The boy was nervous. He frowned as Allen shook his head a little then grimaced and looked back up at him with all the seriousness in the world.

_"I was wondering,"_ he started, voice slightly shaky as well, _"if you… Well… Have you ever…"_

Lavi's eyes snapped open to the sound of distant thunder. Even so, he could still hear the morning bird chirping lowly. It was early in the morning. Frowning, he rolled onto his back ( which did not work wonder for his arms and back) and scooted back towards a wall. He forced himself to sit up and rested against the old, rotted wooden wall and sighed heavily through the gag.

_I can't dream about that now. I have to stay alert._ He heard a voice off in the distance, which caused him to tense._ That kid wants to 'play' with me. I know that much. Fuck, I just wish he'd stay away… Please, God, shake me and wake me up from this nightmare…_

There was a sound of opening (but not from a door), then a sound of something hitting a table, then one foot, two feet, touching the wooden floor. He was back, he knew that much. He heard his footsteps draw closer as he held his breathe. It was worse than anything in the world that he had been through- well, almost. He hated to feel powerless against someone who was thinking the wrong way.

"Good morning, Fallen One."

_Fuck. Fuck. Get this kid away from me._ Lavi's head rose despite his wishes. Carroll was giggling all the while.

"Today," he continued, "I have a special gift for you. I do hope you hate it. In fact, I know you will, Fallen One. It's very… _convenient_ for your very torture." He laughed loudly, one that was too harsh for a little eight-year-old kid. Lavi glared at him despite the fact that the odds were stacked against him. He wished that somehow, in some way, the kid would snap out of his delusional fantasy and smell the coffee. He could hear his grin as Carroll cried out, "Allen! Come here."

_Allen… Allen? _His eyes widened. _Oh God, please tell me…_

Allen was hesitant at first. He did not know what was going on. The boy had woken him up fairly early, which was not pleasant, and dragged him outside to the very old-looking shack in the middle of nowhere. It smelled like something was rotting. A rumble of thunder finally convinced him that it would be best if he did step inside a building of some sort, and since he was already there, it was convenient. The rain began to pour as he climbed through the window with great caution and stepped down on the sagging floor.

"What took you so long?" Carroll asked in a demanding manner. "I asked you to come in here five minutes ago!"

"Sorry," Allen bowed in apology. "I will try better next time, I swear it."

The voice was undeniable. Lavi felt his eyes grow wide as relief sank into his system. Allen was there, there and in the flesh, there to get him the hell out of that place as soon as fucking possible. Allen glanced over to him and blinked. It was quite the pitiful sight. The man was tied up, leaned against the wall, and had several bruises. His eyes were unfocused, which indicated that he wasn't seeing them.

"This," Carroll explained, "is the Fallen One."

The white-haired boy stared at the so-called 'Fallen One' for a long moment before walking over towards it. His new master thought it was a Fallen One. All it really looked like to him was an injured man that was desperate of getting out of there. He frowned. His father Charles, however, said that his son was incredibly smart, so there was no possible way that he could have been lying… Right? His frown deepened. If there was such a thing known as 'human dolls' like him, the possibility of a 'Fallen One' existing was highly probable.

He turned back to Carroll. "What would you like me you to do, Master Carroll?"

The boy giggled. He certainly did obey everything he said. "Could you take these…" He handed Allen a few nails that were approximately eight inches long. "…and this…" He handed him a mallet, one that was of decent size. "…and make him squirm with them? Please, Allen?"

_…What?_ Lavi felt confusion grow inside his head. _Why is Allen obeying this kid? Why isn't he doing anything about him? What's gotten into Allen? Or is it a coincidence that this person has the same name and the same voice as him? No, no, there's no way that could happen. But in that case… Why?_

Allen nodded to Carroll. Despite his opposition to hurting human beings, he figured (since his Master thought so) that this was for the best. He put the nails down to one side except for one. He placed it at where the collar bone was located and paused, turning to Carroll. "Is here fine?" he asked.

The boy nodded.

Allen rose the mallet, tried a few practice swings, then, with approximately three-fourths of his strength, came down upon the nail. It drove right through his skin and into the wall that the man was leaning against. Pain surged in ten-fold. He squeezed his eyes shut as all protests were muffled by the piece of rope. _"Mmprgh!"_ was the only thing that managed to get past.

Carroll was laughing as Allen lifted up another nail from the collection he had. He aimed it more so at the shoulder than the collar bone. When he turned his head to ask, Carroll nodded in excitement before a single word managed to slip past his lips. The doll nodded and returned to practice-swings, then the actual swing. It, too, went right through Lavi and into the wall. Little trickles of blood seeped through his shirt.

_Shit!_ Lavi's brain tried to come up with ways to get him out of that mess._ Allen's either been brainwashed or something, but** fuck** this hurts! _

"Here?"

Lavi shook his head as Carroll nodded.

"As you wish."

The nail pierced through his flesh. A cry was the result, one loud enough to echo throughout the bog, but no one cared. Everyone was fast asleep, in the world of dreams, far away from him when he needed help more than anything.

A flash of lightning struck down on the bog as the rain came down, muting every sound in the vicinity. The cries that came from the redhead were silenced.

No one wasn't coming to help him. Not anymore.

~X~

Wow. That was, uhm… I believe Carroll is crazy. Don't know about you, but I think so. Okay. Sorry. XD; Anyways. So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! It is very indeed greatly appreciated. See you in Chapter 11! -K.S.


	11. Sanguine Wings

Yo. Long time no see. I had pneumonia and had to stay in the hospital for a little while. Here's a word of advice- DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, get pneumonia. For one, it's difficult to spell and takes you twenty times to spell it out before a chapter and for two it just overall sucks. Ugh. Even so, let us commence forthwith with Chapter 11 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

~X~

11. Sanguine Wings

The sun broke over the horizon line, but that wasn't fast enough for him. The two had eventually left, leaving some of the nails still impaled through his body. He laid still upon the floor, his wounds stinging like that of a snake bite amplified by one hundred and twenty-six. Tears wouldn't come despite that fact- He did not want to give into that bastard of a kid and his little fantasy. He was not going to lose to him.

However, that was not the concern that was going through his head. For one, he was starving. For two, the small, circular holes where the nails once were were still bleeding out (Allen had taken them out, just as Carroll commanded him to do) just barely onto the floor. For three, Allen was no longer 'Allen'. The person whom he had heard earlier just had the same name and the same voice, but it wasn't him. There was no way that was the familiar white-haired, grey-eyed, British little kid that he knew and loved. There was just no way. But at the same time, he had a hunch it was.

Several theories came into his mind. One theory of as to why he was acting odd was that he was faking it. The kid either begged him to do those things or something along those lines, but the more he thought about it, the more it was incorrect. Allen would never hurt a friend, not in ten million and two years. In ten million and three, he would sacrifice Kanda, but that was all.

The second theory was that it was a coincidence, but there was no such things as coincidences, so he scratched that theory before it was even completely made.

After those two theories, his mind just went rampant with ideas. Did Rhode mind-rape him into an oblivion and just left him to die? Was this the work of some mind-controlling Noah? Or was this the work of an Innocence? He frowned. Rhode would just keep him, he knew of no Noah that could mind-control people… But the last one. The last one seemed like a very possible theory.

He shifted a little and winced at a result. He did not plan to move all that much with the nails still embedded into his body. His stomach growled as he closed his eyes, tired. He wasn't getting much sleep. He was too nervous to do so, but this time around, he wanted to. He breathed in deeply before sighing and slipped out of reality as everyone knew it.

"_Pathetic. You really think sleep can help you escape from your problems?"_

Lavi said nothing as he stared down into the darkness they enveloped them. It was like a protective cloak, one that he wanted to wear more often these past few days. _It's the only thing I can come up with, _he replied. _Unless of course you have any brilliant ideas? After all, we are the same person. We share the same mind. So until you can think of any other ideas, I want you to shut the hell up._

His mirage snorted as the redhead walked down into someplace darker. _"Keep going that way and you're going to get lost in a sea of emotions, you know. I thought that was the one thing you didn't want- To feel."_

He stopped walking. _And since when are you an expert on what I want?_

"_I __**am**__ you. Remember? You just told me that."_

_Feh. Not anymore. Leave me be._

To that, his mirage said nothing, which gave Lavi the go-ahead to enter into the same place that he saw a few dreams before. The mirror. The blood. Himself. It was all too familiar to him as everything came crashing down in force. This time, however, his dream was not shielding his eyes. He stood there, seeing the eye of the beholder, and swallowed hard. An ungodly creature, one more vile than that of any Akuma he had ever seen, floated high above him.

He stared a few seconds more before a realization stunned him speechless.

_Is that… __**me?**_

The thing nodded as it descended and touched the mirror-like floor. The same green eyes looked at him the way that he had seen back in Rhode's world. His mouth went dry.

_There is absolutely no way that could be-_

"_Clickety-clack."_

Lavi's thoughts stopped as his field of vision turned from the ground back up to where the thing was. A knife had penetrated it through the chest. Pain seared through the apprentice Bookman's chest, a yelp coming out of his mouth along with blood. He fell to his knees, coughing as if the wind were knocked right out of him.

"_Clickety-clack. I'll be there to stab you in the back."_

He looked up to see Carroll (his image of Carroll, anyway) coming out of the creature's mouth, hands covered with blood. The knife used to stab the thing was in his hands as it toppled over onto the floor, not breathing. Lavi's oxygen supply was suddenly cut off, making it hard to stay conscious. Carroll walked towards him in a dramatic fashion, knife dripping with a white substance. Every time a drop fell to the floor, it turned grey, then to black.

"_Your friends left you, they don't need you, clickety-clack, clickety-clack…"_

His hand extended and lifted Lavi's head up enough so that his neck was in full view. Despite his lack of oxygen, he managed to weakly shake his head. Carroll only laughed as his deranged mouth opened in a small circle and finished his song:

"_There was no white when it all faded to black."_

The knife cut open his neck, making blood spurt onto the boy's clothes and the floor. His vision blurred as everything seemed to fade away from that, from everything, as silence became his greatest company. There was the sensation that he was falling, but he didn't notice until his eyes opened again to a strange sound, one that was the equivalent of wailing.

The room was lit up, the curtains spread open. He blinked once before realizing that it was a room- _his _room. He missed his room so much it wasn't even funny anymore. He sighed as he sat up, confused. Did they find him? Did they really find him? Was he back home and-

_No, _his thoughts rang, _no you are not back home. You can see. The Lavi now can no longer see, remember?_

"…Shit," he muttered, then frowned as he noticed footprints- red ones, at that -leading towards the door and out of the room. Curiosity got the best of him as he got up and followed them, followed them out into the hall and down towards where Helvlaska typically resided.

Where she should have been was replaced with the deranged Level Four Akuma, staring down at him. His eyes widened as he took a step back and reached for his hammer-

_G-Gone? _

"Hello, comrade," the Level Four said strangely in a cheerful manner. "Did you awaken from your sleep after so long? You look well."

"Like hell am I your 'comrade', Akuma!" he yelled, but the flapping of wings caused him to stop. He could feel his feet no longer touching the floor. He was flying.

"Looks like an Akuma, smells like an Akuma… Must be an Akuma," the Level Four reasoned. "Look, if you don't believe me, tell that to the Earl. He was the one who assigned you on this mission, anyways."

"What in the _fucking seven hells _are you talking about?"

The Level Four tilted its head. "Oh, dear. The Level Two's ability is fading and you're starting to come to. Nothing a little trick can fix."

"Don't patronize-!" His words were silenced when the Level Four grasped him by the throat and threw him down towards the bottom floor. There was a discreet sound of breaking and shredding, red-colored feathers floating as they were torn off, as the floor drew ever closer to the helpless apprentice Bookman. His wings wouldn't budge, no matter how hard he tried, as the stones that made up the floor grew bigger.

Something else on the floor caught his attention. A boy clad in white that was covered with red stains laid still with a sword in his hands. No doubt that sword was Crown Clown. Lavi's eyes widened. "All-!"

"…Why…"

The wings finally decided to move and kept him hovering over the boy, despite prior to that event they refused to budge. He stared down at the boy, in horror and shock, as his eyes opened half-way, both blood-shot red. There was too much red. He didn't want to see anymore of it, but everywhere he looked, there was nothing but that color.

"Why, Lavi…?" Allen tried to sit up, which revealed that there were huge gash marks- claws? -that went right across his chest. He winced, then laid back down, blood leaking from the cuts. "Why…?"

The feathers began to come down from earlier, floating down like snow that was undisturbed by the wind. One fell upon the growing pile of liquid that surrounded the boy. Lavi couldn't do or say anything as Allen tried to sit up once more, his eyes clouded from the wounds. "Why did you… betray us… the Order… Lenalee… Kanda…"

His finger pointed towards across the room, Lavi's eyes reluctantly following. His gaze froze when it came across bodies, dead bodies, of Exorcists, Generals, Scientists. They all had the same, pure look of sheer and utter terror across their faces. He shook his head, not understanding. "Allen, I didn't- I swear I didn't do that- I have no clue what's going on and I-"

"…You betrayed… me…" Allen looked up from the floor and glared at him. A split-image of Carroll came into his view, both of them saying the same thing- "You betrayed me, you _Fallen One!"_

"_I'm not a Fallen One!"_

The words were muffled as his dream shattered as a result. His breathing was harsh, his eyes remained blind, his arm, paralyzed. He was in the situation he was supposed to be in, despite how much he didn't like it.

_Shit, _he thought. _Shit. What the hell was that? Allen would never call me what the kid always calls me, no matter the circumstances…_

…_Right?_

~X~

She woke up early, to her surprise. Something had to have happened. Her heart was pounding, her hands, sweating. Did it happen to Allen? No. Lavi? No. Kanda? Well, he was across the room, pacing and muttering things to himself. She frowned as the spark of inspiration hit her. Inspector Howard Link. Now that was a name she never thought she'd allow to cross her mind for worrying. He got his job for a reason- He was going to have to deal with that himself. Besides, he was the one who told her to leave in the first place.

Even so, she couldn't help but wonder if he was okay.

"Che. About time you're up," Kanda said, an annoyed look on his face. "I was half-way ready to leave without saying a word."

"You typically do that anyway. I wouldn't be too shocked," she replied, stretching. "Anyways, you remember what your mission is, yes?"

He nodded. "Look around the vicinity where I found the top hat and see if I can find that I be damned bean sprout." He frowned. "Che. Why would that bastard just wander off, anyways? It's not like him to just disappear, no matter the circumstances. Do you think he finally was able to find a girlfriend? Because that's the only thing I can come up with."

Lenalee blinked. _Did he really just ask me that…? Wow… _She gave him a sheepish look before sighing. "No, I don't think so. Allen-kun has a… _specific _sort of taste when he looks for that sort of thing." He gave her an odd look, one that meant he didn't understand, but she pushed it aside with a wave of her hand. "Point being, he doesn't and will never have one of those. I think the only thing that would stop him was that either his friends were threatened so he's doing things he normally wouldn't do to protect us, or he got brain-washed."

"Brain-washed? What makes you think-?"

"The children all 'mysteriously vanished'," she intervened. "Wouldn't you think after a while that kids would catch on and stay away from strangers? Unless of course someone is controlling them."

He nodded slowly. "I guess I can see your point… But Allen falling for that?"

"If his guard got let down for even a second, he would be easily ensnared. Generally, he doesn't let his guard down unless he's helping someone get out of trouble or if food is involved. Considering I saw his coat down in the place I examined with Link the other day, I believe food was the cause." She frowned. "I know my logic is a bit fuzzy, but I seriously can't think of anything else."

"His coat… Wait, are you telling me you found that bean sprout's coat?"

"Yes, down in the secret area underneath the abandoned store. I have it in my bag…"

"Che. I have no use for it," he muttered, then stared silently out the window.

Lenalee sighed. "I'm going to head out, then. Oh! If you happen to have spare time, could you check up on Link for me? He was staking-out by the abandoned doll shop."

He nodded his head, muttering something that sounded like "Yes, because I obviously have nothing else to do but be everyone's work dog…", and resumed staring out the window. Lenalee hefted up her bag over her shoulder and left, heading towards the front door and out of the building. The morning air was colder than the day before, and it didn't look like they were going to have sun anytime in the future.

_Alright, so, _she thought as she walked towards where the bog started, _I will scout the town and ask anyone I see there if they've seen Lavi. Kanda can find Allen, I have faith in him that much. Then we'll make sure to see if Link is doing okay with the finding of the Inno-_

"_Eeeeeeekkkk!"_

Lenalee stopped walking and turned towards a group of shrieking women. Beneath their feet was a dried pool of blood coming from a body. Instinct took over as she ran towards them to see what was going on. She came to a sudden stop as her mouth gaped open.

Link was lying there, seals surrounding him, not breathing, not moving, dead. His eyes were wide with an expression too odd for words. Several of his limbs were missing: A foot, both hands, one upper arm, and by the looks of it, part of his knee. Many lacerations covered the rest of his body. Her knees began to grow weak as some of the local policemen came running towards the group.

But… how? She stared down at him, her emotions beginning to grow rampant. _I just saw him yesterday! He was staking out the doll shop and was fully prepared for anything! How could he just get killed by someone…? Noah? _She inspected him further and shook her head. _No, none of them would take the body parts. They would just search his body for any Innocence. Then… who?_

"You best be cautious. My Mistress does not like it when people come into her home. She gets quite angry."

She snapped out of her thought processes and turned around, head whipping about to see whoever said that. There was no one in sight aside from several people wanting to see what was going on. She grimaced. They were being targeted by whoever was in the doll house. She looked down to see Link again to notice one of her buttons on her uniform was missing.

_Huh…? That one had my name on it… _She blinked. _When did it fall off?_

A woman standing near an alley way with a light-blue parasol watched as the Chinese girl moved away from the crowd and headed towards the bog area in shock. She smiled as two kids approached her. "Did you get her name?"

The boy motioned his head towards the girl. "Here you go, Mistress! I noticed on the boy's coat before we left that one of the buttons had his name on it, so I took a button from her jacket while Richard here distracted her!" She smiled widely. "She's a really pretty one, Mistress. She'd be a wonderful doll."

She handed the woman the button and bowed before giving her Mistress some space. The woman stared down at the engraved letters and smiled.

"Welcome to my collection, Lenalee Lee," she whispered. "Come now, children! We must go back home. Tea time is drawing near."

~X~

Short chapter is short. I know, I'm sorry, throw me a hate-mail or something at me. XD Anyways! So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! See you in Chapter 12 (O_O That many already? Damn…)! -K.S.


	12. The Rise of the Fallen One

Round 3 of trying to attempt to write this chapter. Ugh! Well, anyways, welcome to Chapter 12 of 'Linked'! I'm officially out of school (thank the Heavens for that) and I am writing until my little fingers fall off. (Th-That actually might be bad. .) So! Let us commence forthwith with Chapter 12 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

~X~

12. The Rise of the Fallen One

He wasn't quite sure if what he did was right. His Master said it was fine, but some part of him, he didn't know what, was telling him otherwise. He stared at his hands for a long moment. He had washed them thoroughly, but blood stains were still there. He couldn't get rid of them. _Blood of an innocent, _his mind answered. He had made an innocent person bleed. _But Master Carroll wanted that! _He glared at the wall when he argued with himself. _Master Carroll said-_

_Master Carroll this, Master Carroll that! Listen to you! You sound like some sort of mind-slave, working away the rest of their life for the likes of an eight-year-old boy! Is that what you want? To be like this? To assist him in murdering people?_

_It's not murder! He's still alive!_

_Barely. _The voice in his head seemed to sneer at Allen's desperate attempts of trying to protect Carroll. _You saw his face. He was miserable. Living for even an hour in that way would make them lose their fighting spirit. And you're helping. Get a grip on yourself, Allen! You're a Doll, yes, but that doesn't mean you have to obey every freaking word that comes out of a person's mouth!_

_But…_

_No buts. You know as well as I do that you have a will of your own. Awaken it._

Allen stared blankly at the wall, torn apart. He wanted to serve Carroll. He wanted to help the teenager in the shack. He wanted to be praised for being a good Doll and live a carefree life. He wanted to rebel. Something inside him was breaking, and he didn't know what. He had seen Mistress Abigail murder people, too. Was that all he was good for? A murdering machine? Did he have no other choice but to kill people?

"What purpose was I created for?" he asked dismally to no one. "I don't want to kill people."

_Break free._

"I… can't," Allen replied.

Footsteps indicated that someone was coming upstairs. By the lightness of them, he figured it was Carroll. The parents were still away, after all. He didn't want to see Carroll, though, so he immediately buried himself under the blankets and pretended he was sleeping. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Divine One? Are you sleeping?"

_How am I so 'divine' if I'm helping you murder him…?_

"I was going to ask you to play with me. Come on, wake up."

'_Play a game'. Your definition of a 'game' is sick and twisted, Master Carroll._

"I said, wake up! You're supposed to listen to me, aren't you?"

_I don't want to._

Carroll sneered at the 'sleeping' Doll and headed back downstairs, slightly angered. He fetched a bucket and turned on the stove, placing a pan with room-temperature water in it. He waited until it boiled, then poured it into the bucket and hurried back upstairs. He made absolutely no noise aside from the sloshing of the scolding water as he approached Allen. The rush made him grin. Something about seeing another's pain, Fallen One or not, made him smile inside. He tiptoed as close as he could before tipping the bucket and dumping the water onto Allen.

"Wake up," he said despite Allen's yelling. "I want you play with me."

"W-Was that necessary?" the white-haired boy asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"_Beyond _necessary," Carroll said, devilish grin dancing on his features. "Before we play, though, I'm hungry, so make me some food. I would like blueberry pancakes with syrup."

Allen grimaced. "As you wish, Master Carroll."

~X~

She didn't even know why she fled from the scene. Something whispered in her ear to get as far away from there as possible, despite the fact that she knew Howard Link. She wanted to get help, but help was already there, and there was nothing else she could do.

"Lenalee?"

She turned to see Kanda, who was scowling as always, and briefly smiled at him. "Kanda? What are you doing here?"

"Che. I was about to ask the same thing. Aren't you supposed to be heading towards the bog and not towards the shop?"

She took a moment to look at her surroundings. She could have sworn she was heading to the right place. She wracked her head over why she changed direction, but couldn't come up with any logical conclusions. She started gasping, air coming too short. Anxiety attack? No, it couldn't have been. She kept those sort of things under control. Her fingers twitched as they reached for the handle of the store's entrance.

"Lenalee, what are you-?"

"Ssh," she interrupted. "Mistress is calling. Mistress wants me here."

Kanda stared at her with a look that could have killed cancer. "Who the hell is 'Mistress'?"

He didn't get an answer. Instead, Lenalee slowly turned her head towards him and stared with soulless eyes until the hairs on his neck began to prickle. A strange grin formed onto her face as her body seemed to move so sluggishly that he thought she was drunk. "Lenalee, cut it out. This isn't funny."

She promptly ignored him as she strode onwards, pushing the door out of her way and towards the furthest back wall. Kanda followed, not knowing what else he could do, as she pulled down the candle on the side, causing the wall to spin around and open into a dark stairway. Despite her sluggish manner, she began walking down the stairs with ease. The Japanese man held his breath, then exhaled slowly as Mugen was found in his hands. He couldn't hurt Lenalee, no, but he could hurt whoever was doing this to her.

She walked onwards until they reached the end of the stairwell. She pushed open the door in a dramatic fashion and made her way into the first room on the left. He glanced around before following her. By the sounds of it, children were playing a game, and a piano was playing, but it was distant. He quietly followed Lenalee into the room, who was currently shuffling her hands through piles of clothes.

"Lenalee, you have to snap out of this," he growled. "We've got to get out of here."

She didn't seem to hear him as she picked out a white, flowing dress and began to strip off her clothes. His eyes widened and took a step back. If he left, something bad would happen, but if Komui found out he had seen Lenalee in nothing but a bra and underwear, he would end up being roasted on a camp fire quicker than one could say 'Akuma'. He closed his eyes as more clothes rustled and opened them when silence ensued.

Lenalee fit perfectly in the dress. It suited her well, despite the occasional tear in it. Her Exorcist uniform was discarded and placed in a pile of other normal, everyday clothes. She stared blankly at nothing, as if listening to a voice only she could hear, then started walking towards the door. Kanda watched as she headed out into the hallway and walked incredibly slowly towards the double-doors at the end. His eyes feverishly scanned the area as he followed her.

She pushed the doors open.

"Why, hello, Lenalee!"

_Who is that? _Kanda thought, his grip tightening on Mugen.

"Hello, Mistress Abigail," Lenalee replied. The doors closed behind her, leaving Kanda out in the hallway with nothing but a dumb look upon his face. He approached the door and rested his ear against it, trying to keep all sounds and motions to a minimum.

"I take you had it easy in finding this place."

"But of course," he heard Lenalee respond. "I always can find my way if my Mistress is there."

Shit, has she been completely brainwashed? He backed away from the door and ducked into another room. That would explain what happened to Allen, then. But how? That woman didn't look like an Akuma, she looked normal. Well, they all look normal. But why would she keep humans alive if she were an Akuma? Maybe it's Innocence?

"Who are you?"

Kanda froze into place as a little boy rose from under the covers of his bed. He still looked half-asleep.

"Oh, I see," the boy yawned. "You're another one of those 'unexpected' guests. Come with me, ma'am."

_I would kill him, but this sounds like my golden ticket to get into that room without any suspicion. _He sheathed Mugen and followed the little boy out of the room and towards the room he had just previously been in. _If I can figure out who this woman is, I can figure out what she's using for her Innocence. If I can figure that out, then I can manage to get Lenalee back to normal. Then we can go find Moyashi and Baka Usagi._

The little boy bowed and presented Kanda with a dark purple dress that had some frills within it, black gloves, heels, and a dark sunhat. "Here you are, ma'am. Please, when you are finished changing, head towards the double-doors. My Mistress will be pleased to meet you. My name is Richard, by the way."

Before Kanda could get a word in, Richard left, leaving him with the frilly garments in his hands. He scowled. _If Moyashi ever finds out I wore a dress, I'm history. Che. It's for the good of the team, though. Damn, when did I start to become a team player?_

He took down his hair and let it flow around him as he changed into the dress. Sadly, it fit him quite well. He scoffed in annoyance as he put on the sunhat and squeezed his too-large feet into the heels. He never understood why women liked those shoes. They seemed like a hazard to the ankles. By walking five steps, he nearly twisted his ankle twice. He growled at them, regained his composure, and headed towards the double-doors and pushed them open.

It was his definition of a living nightmare.

"Ah?" The woman rose her head from the piano shortly after Richard had left her side. "I see. An unexpected guest. Please, come in."

He glanced over and saw Lenalee sitting there next to a creepy-looking girl. He knew if he spoke, his cover was blown. He had to communicate in some other way, possibly in writing. He followed her to a table and sat down across from her, trying to sit up straight and seem 'proper'. That was how most women acted, anyways, or so he thought.

"What's your name, Miss?" the woman asked. "My name's Abigail. Abigail Wilson."

He remained silent and stared at her hand. He didn't like handshakes with anyone, and she certainly wasn't an exception. Her hand dropped as she smiled too shortly and cleared her throat. "Do you not share your name?"

He didn't answer. She stared at him out of curiosity and pulled out her notebook. He rose an eyebrow, noting how old the notebook looked but how thick it was. She took out a pen and smiled at him. "Everyone who comes in here signs their name into this book. Could you please sign it for me?"

He nodded, then opened the notebook himself and looked at the last entry. In big, calligraphic letters, it read, _"Lenalee Lee"_.

_This is the Innocence. _He looked up at her, then picked up the pen. _If I act too rashly, I'll blow my cover. I need to play along at least a little bit. She still has Lenalee within her possession, and I don't know how to break out of it. I need more information. _Carefully, he started to write his name by writing 'K' when he stopped. _She controls people when she obtains their name. I need a new name, then._

He wrote down a new name, "Kristina White", then handed the pen and her notebook back to the woman. She stared at and smiled at him. "Thank you. Could I offer you some tea? Or perhaps interest you in a game of chess?"

Kanda shook his head. The woman sighed.

"That's a shame," she said, then grinned widely. "Because you're staying here, whether you like it or not! Welcome to my Doll House, Kristina White!"

Kanda stared at her for a long moment, then tried to imitate what happened to Lenalee. He managed to look like he was falling asleep, then grimaced as if trying to resist, and hit his head onto the table, as if passed out. He tried to wear a pained expression on his face as he felt someone pick him up and put him on the floor, sitting up.

"Alright, Richard," the woman said. "When she wakes up after I write in her personality, tell her what we rehearsed. She'll immediately believe you. She's almost as pretty as the white-haired one, Allen, we sold the other day."

_So he is a doll. _Kanda frowned internally. _Shit, does that mean I have to be the one saving the day? Fuck, this mission gets more and more annoying with each passing minute! First Baka Usagi goes missing, then Allen goes missing and turns out to be a doll, Link fucking has the nerve to go ahead and die on us, Lenalee loses her mind and becomes a doll, and I'm dressed up as a fucking woman! How much more wrong could this mission go?_

"What personality will you give her, Mistress?"

"A sweet, caring type. She looks like she can pull that off."

_Wonderful. I have to pretend to be nice, too. _He groaned in his head as the two walked away from him. _Moyashi and Baka Usagi owe me big time for this when I find them. Che._

~X~

"_Lenalee, can I ask you a question?"_

She blinked once and turns towards him. In her hands was her brother's coffee cup, steaming from a fresh pot of coffee. _"What is it, Lavi?"_

"_I was just wonderin'…" _He stared at his feet and kicked the ground, acting nervous. He bit his lower lip out of nerves and grimaced. _"You know what, never mind."_

"_Come on, Lavi," _she said, approaching him. _"It looks like there's something obviously bothering you."_

He said nothing and stared at the floor for a few moments before looking back at her. He inhaled deeply, then sighed. _"Well… It's kind of a personal question. I was wondering if you could help me with something."_

"_What kind of something?" _She was truly curious, he could tell. She never really pried with issues unless she really wanted to know.

"_Well…" _he sighed heavily before grinning sheepishly. _"It deals with… er… well, a friend. You see, this friend told me that he…"_

His eyes snapped open, breathing heavily from the dream he just had. He didn't want to think about that, not now. He had much bigger fish to fry. His blind eyes could see nothing but black, which was a huge disadvantage. He didn't hear Carroll or his ridiculous chants. All he heard was his own stomach growling. He was starving for food, no, scratch that, he was incredibly thirsty. He couldn't even remember what food tasted like.

He slipped back out of consciousness and saw Deke standing there, annoyed look on his face. _"You're still having issues with this, huh? Pathetic. A real Bookman would have figured this problem out by now."_

Lavi glared at him. _Then tell me, Mr. Wiseguy, how would a real Bookman deal with this issue? So far, you've done nothing to help me out. _

"_Perhaps you should let me be the Successor."_

_Perhaps __**you **__should go to Hell! _Lavi punched Deke in the face out of sheer frustration and gasped. He never did that before. He let his emotions get ahead of him. That was something that a future Bookman couldn't do. Deke chuckled and rose from where he had fallen and rolled his eyes.

"_Really, Lavi, you hit like a girl," _he said, sighing. _"So be it. If you want to be stuck in this hellhole forever, fine. Just don't come complaining to me afterwards."_

With that, Deke turned his back on him and walked onwards towards the lighter half of both sides. Lavi stood there, motionless, as every confusing thought came raining down upon his head. Lenalee, Kanda, Krorykins, the Order, Bookman, Successor, Allen…

_Fuck, Allen…_

_Damn, I failed everyone!_

The sound of something shredding echoed in the recesses of his mind caused him to look up. There was nothing in front of him, there was nothing on either side of him, just the two wings attached to his back and flapping. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face, his fingers twitching.

_Why is this all happening to me?_

"_Lavi."_

_Shut up, shut up!_

"_Lavi!"_

_I said shut up!_

"…_vi…"_

Silence. The wings were still there. They wanted to fly. They wanted to go out and kill something or someone or destroy something or someone, it didn't matter, anything would do. He turned.

Allen was standing there, waving at him and smiling. _"Lavi!"_

_Allen…!_

It was one swift, defiant movement. The wings flapped, a screech came out of his mouth, and then blood. Too much blood. It was like something that came out of a horror story. He stared blankly at the boy's dead body. Red, white, black, blood, silver cross, eyes frozen in shock, blood, red hand, blood, cut in half, dead, blood.

_I'm going to kill Allen if he finds me. Lavi stood there, shocked. I'm going to kill anyone if they find me. I'm a betrayer. I'm a murderer. I'm…_

He stared at his own hands and looked at the black sky.

_I'm a Fallen One._

~X~

Woo-hoo, Chapter 12, done! So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor, and I'll see you in Chapter 13! Yippee! -K.S.


	13. The Fires of Betrayal

Yo! Kurokumo, once again! (I really think I should change my pen name… Hmm. Being called 'black cloud' seems a little depressing. Enh.) This time with the new-and-improved Chapter 13 of 'Linked'! Super-special-awesome, yeah? I hope so. I don't really know, because I write this before I write the chapter… Ahem. So, let us commence forthwith with Chapter 13 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

~X~

13. Fires of Betrayal

Carroll thoroughly enjoyed the pancakes Allen had cooked for him. They were possibly even better than his own mother's, who had yet to return. He frowned at the thought. _**WhY **__aRE mY __**paREntS **__nOt __**BaCK**__ YEt? THey __**cAN'T sTIll **__be lookINg for __**HIM. **_His frown deepened as he thoughtfully chewed on his fork, even though there were no more pancakes to eat.

Allen was washing the dishes, mostly to get away from the eight-year-old for at least a little while. The dishes clanked together as he sloppily put them in the sink and sighed heavily. He was unhappy. His Mistress told him that he would be happy in his new home. Was that, too, a lie? As everything seemed to fall into place, it was very likely that everything Abigail had said was a lie.

But what would that make him?

He grimaced and held one of the dishes in his hand too hard. The plate shattered into little pieces and cut open his hand. He blinked as the little red drops fell onto the countertop and the floor. Blood. He was bleeding. A Doll, bleeding? Dolls couldn't bleed anything but stuffing and thread. He raised his red hand and pinched himself, trying to make sure that this wasn't a dream. It stung, so he was definitely awake. Curiously, he reached out and touched the blood-filled cut, feeling the warmth of the red liquid on his fingers. The air around him smelled coppery.

There was no denial now. He was a human.

It came crashing down onto him too fast. Then the other Dolls were also human. If he were a human, who was he? Was 'Allen' his real name? Did he have parents? Friends? Siblings? A significant other? Who was he? Panicking, he dipped his hands into the water and tried to clear his mind from all of the distressing questions. He stared at his see-through image and blinked.

_Who am I, exactly? _

"Divine One! I heard a crash. Is everything all right?"

"Ah…" Allen snapped back into reality and nodded to no one in particular. "Yes, everything is quite all right, Master Carroll. Please, continue with whatever you were doing."

When Carroll didn't reply, he sighed in relief. He didn't like the sound of the boy's tenor anymore than he liked being in the situation he was in. He bent down and picked up the fragments of the plate and threw them away before glancing at the stairs. Sleeping sounded like a very good idea. He glanced back over to where Carroll was sitting, his back turned, then looked back at the stairs.

_If I go upstairs, I can make my plan to get out of here and figure out who I really am. _Allen finished washing one more dish before putting the dishcloth off to one side. _I have to confront Mistress. I have to ask her why she uses real human beings as Dolls and who I really am. If anyone would know, it would be her. _

He slowly walked towards the stair case and tried to make minimum noise.

"Divine One."

Allen stopped mid-step, the temptation to curse under his breathe beyond anything than that of what he wanted to say before. "Yes, Master Carroll?"

"Could you check on my toy for me?" He turned a page of his book and sighed. "I would do it myself, but it's raining and I don't want to get wet. Pretty please, Divine One?"

_Oh… and I have to get him out of there, too. _Allen nodded once before finding a jacket that fit him and stepped out the back door. _But how? The only way to get in and out of there is by the window. And if I try and take down the door, it will make a lot of noise. _He frowned as the wind nearly knocked him over and the rain battered him relentlessly. _I'll have to make a more in-depth plan to help him._

He approached the window and opened it with slight difficulty before stepping in the room. The redhead lied still on the floor, and the only way Allen could tell he was breathing was that his chest was heaving up and down out of fear. _He's expecting Carroll… _"Relax."

Lavi blinked once despite his inability to see and relaxed at the sound of Allen's voice, then froze once again. He didn't want Allen to be near him. He was going to hurt him, then once he got rid of Allen he was going to hurt someone else. He didn't know who, but deep down, he just knew. The white-haired boy approached him and removed the gag around his mouth. "Does that feel better?"

For a moment, speaking was a foreign concept to him. His throat was too dry to say anything, let alone trying to make a noise. His cracked lips, however, did manage to open a little to breath better. His stomach growled loudly to voice his need for food. Allen blinked. "Ah! Are you hungry? I'll get you something right away."

"…run…" Lavi managed, which managed to stop the British boy in his steps.

"_Allen!" _

"_Me and Yuu are best buds~"_

"_Big Hammer, Little Hammer!"_

"_Wanna have a snowball fight?"_

Allen recoiled from the sudden surge of memories that took over his brain. His breathing became harsh as he made his way towards the window and slipped back out into the rain. He could not tell Carroll about him feeding the teenager. If he did, his Master would just end up killing him or hurting him in many different ways. He walked back inside and shook the rain out of his hair and pretended as if all were normal. However, the definition of 'normal' within the building was misconstrued and tossed aside like a rag doll.

"How is the Fallen One, Divine One?" Carroll asked over his shoulder.

"…Fine," Allen replied as he got a glass of water and some bread. He hid it in a small bag and bit his lower lip. "Master Carroll, may I go out for a little bit? I promise I won't take too long."

The eight-year-old waved his hand as an affirmative. Allen sighed in relief quietly to himself before hiding the bag and the glass of water within the inside pockets of his jacket and left without another word. Carroll stared at the door that closed behind him, curious, and gathered up his shoes.

Allen strode onwards through the storm and back into the shack where the redhead laid. He was still gasping, which was good; gave him a sign that he was still alive. "Here you go," he said, hefting up the glass of water and putting it against Lavi's lips. "You look really thirsty."

The apprentice Bookman gratefully accepted the water and chugged it down. He never knew how wonderful water could have tasted, despite the lack of flavor thereof. He wanted to say something, but there were no words. Allen had yet to say anything, either, and the silence was beyond suffocating.

"Well…" He finally did break the silence, much to Lavi's relief. "Master Carroll always called you a 'Fallen One'. But I'm quite curious, what's your real name?"

_He… really doesn't know who I am, does he? _He grimaced. "My name… My name is…"

There was a sudden shriek, one that was full of pure agony and betrayal, as Allen turned his head. Carroll, who had managed to slip into the room without being noticed, was standing there, eyes wide, mouth gaped open as if he were expecting a cranberry to fly into it, and stature lifeless. Shock was one term to put it under. Allen could feel his heart ramming up against his ribcage as the boy took two steps closer towards them slowly.

"You…" Carroll grasped Allen by the collar, almost as if trying to choke him ."You…!"

Allen braced himself as Carroll pulled out his knife that he kept in case of emergencies. This time, however, was not an emergency, it was an act of betrayal that he had just caught. _"You…!"_

~X~

Kanda had pretended to be knocked-out for what felt like hours. He could hear Lenalee talking to the girl whose name turned out to be Jenna. She often spoke slowly and about fire, which got on Kanda's nerves. He could hear two little girls singing and chiming away, which _really _got on Kanda's nerves. To top it off, all he could smell was something bitter, as if someone had forgotten to do the laundry for approximately ten months or so. He tried to relax himself, but it didn't really work. He was too pissed off to even have a single thought of relaxation.

"Mistress, when are we going to go out again?" one of the annoying girls asked. "We've been stuck inside for a while now!"

"Until the cops find someone else for the murder of the boy we found the other day, we cannot leave this house," Abigail said. By the sounds of the constant dabs and page turnings, she was still writing within the notebook that she possessed. "Richard, you did burn the umbrella I used, correct? All disputable evidence is no longer within our home, yes?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"Good," she said, then sighed. Kanda could hear the distinct 'thud' of a book closing with heavy force. Either the woman was annoyed or she was naturally that strong. He placed his money on annoyed, even though he was currently broke because he had given his money to Lenalee. "I'm going to go downstairs. I am to not be disturbed. And Richard, when the lady wakes up in about twenty seconds, give her the tour."

"Yes, Mistress."

He heard footsteps, then a door opening, then long, echoing footsteps that sounded like she was descending down a flight of stairs. A door closed, then there was silence. The two girl's chiming reduced to whispers as if it were forbidden to speak. He could hear his own heart droning on in his ears.

_Damn. Now what do I do? Did she say twenty seconds?_

Slowly, he forced himself to open his eyes. All eyes were on him as he sat up, pretending to still be half-asleep, and blinked.

_Can't speak. If I speak, I blow my cover. Che. Why couldn't Moyashi do this? He sounds enough like a girl. Oh, right, because he's dollified or whatever. _

"Hello, Kristina," Richard began.

Kanda said nothing, his eyes focusing slightly on the notebook that laid still upon the table. She had obviously let it behind. He couldn't imagine why. He glanced over at the only door that was shut. She must have gone into that one, considering there were no other doors closed in sight. He frowned.

_Fuck it. I'm going to settle this thing correctly after all and get Lenalee and Moyashi back so we can fucking get this mission over with. _He inhaled deeply as Richard gave him a confused glance.

"Fuck you," Kanda said bitterly, then, while Richard was still in shock, he approached the table and swiped the notebook off of the table. He flipped through the pages until he found the one with Lenalee's name in it.

"Mistress! Mistress!" one of the girls was screaming for the woman, but Kanda was already making his way out of the room and down the hall. "One is escaping!"

_Che! Not the brightest move, Kanda! _He turned into one of the four rooms as the sounds of running went right passed him. _Damn, why do I always not think things through? Che. Too late now. _

After the commotion passed him, he snuck out of the room and headed back towards the main room. He glanced around before proceeding towards Lenalee.

"Che. Lenalee," he whispered, "snap out of it already."

He tore the page out of the notebook with her name on it and she gasped quietly. Her eyes returned to normal shortly thereafter, a look of confusion on her face. He sighed internally out of relief, but only for a few seconds, for the next moment an umbrella was sticking through his chest.

"_Ack…" _His eyes widened to see a blade sticking out of him.

"You thought you could run, boy," Abigail said, wedging the knife another forty-five degrees in his chest, "but you thought wrong."

"Kanda…?" Lenalee's eyes began to readjust to the dim lighting. What she saw before her was absolutely terrifying. "Kanda!"

Abigail flung her head back in a loud, maniacal laughter that seemed to have echoed throughout the room as she let the Japanese man slide to the floor. She pulled the umbrella out of his chest and grinned. "All of my umbrellas double as a weapon," she explained in a slow, eerie tone. "I was smart to hide near the double-doors. It was the last thing he had ever expected."

Her hair was starting to become undone. The traditional French hairstyle was loosening as her crazed grin and dilated eyes made her seem like the craziest person in Norway. Lenalee flinched as the woman pointed the umbrella at her, just short of her forehead. Without her Dark Boots, she really couldn't do anything to defend herself. Where could it have been? She side-glanced quickly without moving her head and saw nothing that would be at her aide. Abigail laughed again and grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her forward.

"Such a pretty girl!" she exclaimed, then tugged at her harshly towards the closed door. "Come, come! A doll I'm working on needs nice, slender bones for her face!"

"Wh-What?" Lenalee was pulled down the creaking flight of stairs and into the chamber room. More bodies littered the floor, bodies of women, men, but especially children.

"Make yourself at home, Lenalee!" She spun in a circle before practically throwing her in a chair and knocking the wind out of her. "You're about to witness a circus I'm going to perform! The main show is called 'Blood Bath of the Children'!"

Abigail tied Lenalee to the chair tight enough so that she almost couldn't breath and laughed again. She pulled out a nice, silver key that hung from her neck and unlocked one of the cages and grabbed a small, young boy from it. By the looks of his eyes, he wasn't even all there. She grimaced as she continuously tried to get out from her bindings, but couldn't.

"Witness, the beauty of this child." She placed the boy down onto a table and raised the umbrella high in the air, the blade glinting with the dull candle light that surrounded it.

"No!" Lenalee struggled harder than she thought was possible. "He's just a child! Leave him be!"

The woman paused and stared at her with bewildered eyes, knife still high in the air. Her lips seemed to move in slow-motion as she asked, "Why should I?"

The blade plunged into the chest of the little boy, who did nothing to defend himself. Lenalee's eyes widened. She felt as if she shouldn't have been witnessing it. She felt like she should have flinched or turn her head away, but instead she just sat there, eyes wide, mouth partially gaped, as blood dripped off the edge of the table. She pulled the umbrella out and threw the carcass into the pile of bodies. Flies were starting to spin around it, which made Lenalee want to gag. The woman approached the cage again.

"Stop it! Stop, haven't you done enough?" She was yelling louder now. Her throat was starting to hurt from the desperate efforts she was making, even though a lone thought was telling her that it wasn't going to work. Her hands gripped the armrests of the chair as she spoke. "They're children! They're-!"

"Precisely why I should kill them now instead of life battering on them later," Abigail said. Her voice was surprisingly solemn. "They have no futures, only death. I'm sparing them from the cruelties of life." Her eyes glinted with a tenfold of hatred as she stared at Lenalee. "Life is nothing but suffering! Can't you see that?"

With that said, she took the candles and held them up against the aged tapestries that were just barely managing to hang on the walls. A fire formed immediately near the cages as Abigail began to pull them out, one by one, and sat them near the dead bodies. The smoke started to fill the room, making Lenalee cough tremendously.

"You've got to stop," she said as Abigail approached her with the knife. The fire was starting to reach near where the children were sitting. They did nothing but sit there as the first one lit on fire. "You've got to… They're only children…"

"You know nothing of pain, girl!" Abigail reeled back, aiming the umbrella at Lenalee's chest. "You know absolutely nothing!"

She closed her eyes. She really couldn't do anything else. She just wanted to save the children, but she couldn't even do that.

It was really…

…_Pathetic._

The sound of blood almost muffled the sound of the fire raging on. It added to the smell of burning corpses and smoke. Lenalee blinked, seeing Mugen pierced right through her chest, and a very, very pissed off Kanda behind it. The notebook in his hands was immediately flung into the fire out of annoyance. It seemed to shriek with her as both died painfully. "First," he yelled, "Baka Usagi disappeared. Then Moyashi disappeared shortly afterwards! Following shortly, Link fucking dies!" He cut the rope holding Lenalee captive and shoved her uniform that was discarded back to her. The children, now conscious, began to flee up the stairs.

"Then," he continued as they went up the stairs, "you become a fucking doll, leaving _me _to save the day! I fucking had to dress as a fucking _girl, _for fuck's sake!" They followed the children once they got in the room towards the hallway. "I fucking blew my cover like an idiot after getting all those idiot-germs from Moyashi and fucking Baka Usagi and got the damned notebook! I fled the scene afterwards only to get stabbed in the fucking chest by some fucking crazy-ass woman named Abigail!" They ran up the secret stairwell to get into the bottom floor up into the abandoned store section. "And when I fucking wake up, there's this damn smell of smoke coming from downstairs!"

They ran out into the street as the main building caught fire. All of the remaining children and some of the former Dolls stood there, watching it burn, as the firemen came rushing onto the scene. "So I fucking go down the stairs and into this blood-filled room, rescue you, throw the fucking Innocence in the fire and killed that she-demon, and we haven't even found those two bastards yet! _Graaaah!"_

Lenalee patted him on the shoulder with a sheepish grin on her face, partly relieved that Kanda came in on the scene when he did. "Well, at least we got the children out and will recover the Innocence once the fire dies down. Do you feel better getting that off your chest?"

The Japanese man huffed in anger, still scowling as the building's roof caved in. "Che. Your brother owes me so damn much I can't even begin to start counting."

She laughed slightly and looked up to see the Innocence coming towards them. It was down in its basic form, the two gears and the box in the center of it, glowing a calm green. She held her hand out for it and it came to her hand slowly. She sighed in relief. "We officially obtained the Innocence," she said as parents and children began running towards each other in happiness. Some of the parents were sobbing when they found out their child was dead. Lenalee clenched the Innocence in her hand and wore a determined look upon her face. "Now let's go find Allen-kun and Lavi."

~X~

Hah hah! Nice chapter. I liked it, anyways… Some of you might not. So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! I'll see you in Chapter 14! (Wow, 14... I like that number. Don't know why. ^.^) See you then~! -K.S.


	14. Memories of a Doll

Yes, I DID in fact change my pen name. I am now Mr. Ree. ^.^ Nice name, huh? Actually, it's lame. I know. XD; But that aside! Chapter 14 has arrived! Woo-hoo, yeah! And I am looking for writing colleges! Woo-hoo, yeah! Let us commence forthwith with Chapter 14 of 'Linked! Woo-hoo, yeah!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

~X~

14. Memories of a Doll

A crack of lightning flashed as the sound of a yelp was heard. Allen had been shoved into the opposite wall, eyes wide, as Carroll's face seemed to contort into something beyond that he had ever seen. It was a mixture of hatred, confusion, and a look of someone betrayed. The knife still clung in his hands, his knuckles turning white with the grip he had around the handle. The redhead laid still on the floor, trying not to gasp as he heard another resounding 'thud' upon the wall.

"You dare to aid the Fallen One?" The knife plunged into Allen's shoulder, who had not tried to defend himself. He didn't know how against a small child. "You dare to turn your back on me? To think that such a Divine One were to exist…! Mr. God will be very angry with you!"

He pulled the knife out and stabbed him in the other shoulder, though Allen didn't even yelp that time. His gaze was hazed over with confusion and nostalgia. He didn't even seem to be able to hear anything, either, as Carroll continued to yell at him. The silence in his mind was calming and soothing.

"_Hey, Allen."_

"_Lavi?"_

The redheaded Exorcist grinned at him. _"You came to, huh? Listen, next time you lose your consciousness, make sure it's __**after**__ a battle, not before it."_

Allen stared at him in bewilderment. _"I-I passed out?"_

"_Yup. Against a Noah, too." _He glanced over his shoulder and frowned. _"He went somewhere that-a-way afterwards. Y'think we should go after him? 'Cause quite frankly, if we take one Noah down, it'll be a lot easier to face the Millennium Earl when we face him." _He shifted his bandana and grinned. _"You, me and Lenalee should be able to take one Noah down together with ease, yeah?"_

_Wait a minute. _Allen could feel his heart pound in his ears as a gripping realization seized him, body and mind alike. _Wait a minute! This was before he went missing, wasn't it? Before we got into this mess! _His mouth went dry as words, desperate words, tried to fall out of his mouth, but nothing came out. Instead, it was just a hiss like the rain and wind hitting the bog grass.

The redhead turned. _"Hurry up, Allen! Or else you automatically forfeit our bet."_

"_What bet?" _he heard himself ask.

He stopped and turned before grinning widely. _"You know. The bet. The one we made before we came here, remember? The one about how you like me and how you have approximately the length of this mission to get me to like you too? Like it's ever gonna happen. I have the power in my hand of cards."_

He felt a smirk form on his face. _"You forget whose the expert cheater, Lavi."_

"_I'll take my chances."_

A small laugh interrupted their conversation. A Noah stepped forward, looking malevolent as always. Lavi grimaced.

"_We're gonna have to put the bet on hold, Allen!" _The familiar hammer rose in a dramatic fashion. _"Big Hammer, Little Hammer! Grow, grow, grow!"_

The head of the hammer got approximately five times bigger as he swung it towards the enemy. The Noah merely grinned as he stopped it in mid-swing, and, with little excess motion, threw the hammer and its wielder towards the horizon.

"_I have no time to deal with Exorcists," _he said. _"I have a meeting to attend to."_

He strode passed Allen, whose eyes were wide, and stopped temporarily to say, _"Catch him if you can."_

The memory subsided as pain took over. Both of his shoulders stung with knife wounds and a pain in the back of his head. Carroll was standing over him, a look of dominance on his features. Allen glanced over to his left, where Lavi was still lying, and grimaced. Surviving the Noah's attack, just to be treated like a demon? He glared at Carroll. "Hey, Lavi," he said, eyes not moving off of the boy.

The redhead blinked. "A-Allen?"

"Yeah. You think I won our bet yet?"

Carroll looked at him in confusion as Lavi couldn't produce an answer. _He's remembering everything again! Thank God, and here I thought I'd be stuck here 'til I died…_

"You're both Fallen Ones," Carroll whispered, then shrieked as if in pain. "You tricked me! How dare you! You filthy, disgusting cur!" He kicked the former Doll repeatedly, who was struggling to get his hands to block. Something was restraining them from moving- Rope? "I thought Mr. God would punish you by now, but no, no, NO! Your wings have yet to be clipped, I still see them, I still see them!"

_He's seriously lost his mind! _Lavi grimaced as he heard another kick connect with Allen's ribcage. It was definitely going to bruise the next morning. _What the hell is he saying, anyways? 'Your wings have yet to be clipped'? What? _

"It's your fault this Divine One betrayed me, isn't it?" The eight-year-old picked up the knife that had fallen to the floor during his rampage against Allen. "It's all your fault, isn't it, Fallen One? Everything is _your_ fault!"

"Lavi-!" Allen winced for him as Carroll stepped on his head, pushing him down hard to the floor.

"All your fault! All your fault!" He slashed his cheek open, blood slowly oozing from the cut, as Lavi clenched his teeth together. "If Mr. God won't punish you, then maybe I will!"

The British Exorcist growled in rage. "Maybe 'Mr. God' isn't punishing us because we aren't what you think we are, Carroll! Open up your eyes! We're humans!"

"Lies!" Carroll kicked Lavi once more before focusing his attention on Allen. "Lies! You're trying to trick me again!"

"What would we gain from lying?" He didn't even allow Carroll to get a word in. "What purpose would we have to lie to you? The only person lying here is you at the moment, lying to yourself about these self-induced illusions of fallen angels and divine angels! Where are our wings, Carroll? Show them to me!"

"_Lies!" _the boy cocked his head back and bayed at the roof. It was slightly drowned out by the rumble of thunder in the distance, but it still managed to reach their ears. The tipping point of insanity had been reached. The boy stopped, eyes still wide, and looked back down on the two Exorcists on the floor. "Mr. God. Mr. God loves me and not you but seems to not do anything to you. Why is that…?"

Allen glanced over to the blind redhead, who still managed to wear a confused look on his face. He frowned. What is he getting at…?

"Perhaps… this is an offering." His eyes widened at the thought, a grin forming on his lips, as he suddenly became excited. "An offering! I am to become a Divine One because of my loyalty to Him! I'm to be an Angel! An Angel!"

He laughed loudly and picked up the knife once more. "To become one, I need your blood, Fallen Ones. I must drink every last drop."

_What…? _Lavi could hear his heart pounding in his ears. _Drink our blood?_

"I shall return with a bowl. Wait for me, my Fallen Ones~"

He sang as he left, his out-of-tune voice resonating. _"Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, I'll be there to stab you in the back. You fell from Heaven, a choice God has given, clickety-clack, clickety-clack I'll be clothed in white as your worlds fade to black."_

~X~

After the many thanks and praise the townspeople gave them, they had managed to get back to the inn and relax for a moment. It had turned out even Abigail's 'children' were Dolls as well. Their parents were overjoyed to see them OK. The building had burned down to a crisp. The dead bodies of the children and Abigail were ashes at that point, though some body parts were found in the rubble.

A lone umbrella somehow remained unscathed, the blade evident and Kanda's blood covered on top of it. It resided untouched on top of the rubble.

Lenalee had changed back into her Exorcist uniform and re-obtained her Dark Boots as Kanda hid the Innocence within his bag. They were staring at the map as the long silence finally got on her nerves. "You have any idea where they might be?"

Kanda frowned as he stopped tapping his finger on the edge of the desk. "Che. If I did, I would have gone there by now. I have a feeling, since the Innocence has been returned to normal, that Moyashi has regained his consciousness and is looking for Baka Usagi. If we locate Moyashi, we'll be all set."

She nodded as she took a bite out of a sandwich she had gotten a bit earlier. "I think, since he was a Doll and wasn't at the store, he must have been sold. So he must be in a town somewhere."

"How far is the question."

_Yes… That is the question, isn't it? _She stared at her sandwich and frowned in discontent. _Allen-kun, Lavi… You two have to find each other and find us. We have to get back home together. We just have to._

"I don't think it's too far, though. It seems she was a local dealer." He glanced at the map and sighed. "I wouldn't shrug off the theory that he's also located in this bog town. We should probably check there first… What are we going to tell Komui about Link's death?"

She blinked. "You also saw that?"

He frowned. "How could I not? Che, there was a huge damned crowd blocking my way. It took me a while to even get to the building. No one has claimed the body yet for identification, apparently."

The thought tugged at her heart strings. Even though most of them (or so she assumed) hated Leverrier, Link at least deserved a little respect for being able to put up with him. A frown creased her features. "We might as well claim the body after we find Allen-kun and Lavi. He is part of the Order, after all."

_Che. Who gives a shit about those fucking morons at the Order? _Kanda nodded. "Alright, but only if we find the two idiots alive. I don't want to carry three dead bodies on a train."

"You mean you won't kill them when you first see them?" She raised an eyebrow in amusement. "How very thoughtful of you, Kanda."

"It's a waste of time trying to kill them. Killing them would mean I would care. Ignoring them all together would be more effective."

"I _knew_ your scowling face meant you actually cared about them!" Now she was just messing with him.

"Shut up." He stood up and stretched. Sitting for too long often made him want to do that. "Are we going to go find those two numbskulls or not?"

She finished her food and nodded, wiping the crumbs away from the sides of her face. "Yes. We'll use my Dark Boots to get there faster and cut down on time. When we arrive to the town, we'll take opposite ends and work our way down to the middle. If we can't find them anywhere, we'll have to explore the entire bog to at least find Lavi." Her tone was saddened when she said the final sentence. She didn't want to just find Lavi. She wanted to find both of them, no matter what. Kanda frowned.

"Che. We'll find them. Stop being depressed. That's Miranda's job."

She couldn't help but laugh at that. "I guess. C'mon, let's go."

The two exited out the inn and walked through the main part of town towards the edge. The tree covering the sign was there, signifying the long walk one would have to take in order to find more civilization. Luckily for the Exorcists, they had Lenalee. When no one was looking, she activated the Dark Boots. "Hold onto my hand."

He frowned. "Are you serious?"

"Just do it. Do you want to get this over with or not?"

The Japanese man cursed under his breath and held onto her hand. She jumped up into the sky with grace before turning about 45 degrees and shooting them at extreme speeds towards the Bog Town.

They would soon be able to find them. She just knew it. Her heart swelled with happiness at the thought, despite the pounding rain on her face. They would find them and get them back from whoever had found them and return home. They would enjoy food and laugh and celebrate for another mission well done, despite the loss of Link.

All they had to do was find the town, which would be easy.

Little did they know, however, a Level Two Akuma had already beat them there.

~X~

Woo-hoo, Chapter 14, done! With an ominous touch, too. So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! Sorry if there are any objections for me changing my pen name. See you in 15~ -Mr. Ree


	15. Blind Date With an Akuma

Yo! Mr. Ree here. Nice to see you again so quickly. I've been listening to incredibly creepy music these days. It fits quite well, because I'm trying to make this story at least partially creepy. I hope it's working. So, with that said, let us commence forthwith with Chapter 15 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

~X~

15. Blind Date with an Akuma

_Silence, silence, silence._

_The music to my ears have fallen silent._

_Why is that? I love to hear them. I love the smell of the dust._

_Silence, silence, silence._

_Anyone left? No? There has to be at least one. Level Three, Level Three, it's so close to me, yet there's no one here left to gain XP. Where are they? The humans I crave so much._

_Silence, silence, silence._

It strode in its human form, glancing around vacantly. The rain didn't bother it at all as it approached towards another door. Still dust. There was nothing really left in that town except for dust. It had only become an Akuma quite recently, about a couple hours ago, in fact, and it was already Level Two. A town as isolated as the one it was in was surely an easy target. And the lack of Exorcists helped.

It paused and looked at itself in the window of a building. The man's skin it wore was slightly older than thirty. Whoever it was, they used to be quite the cheerful person. Its eyes still sparkled even in the rain. It frowned. The downside was that it was too heavy to walk around in the skin. It wanted something leaner. However, this was the body it was stuck in now. Nothing could change that now.

A flash of lightning didn't even catch its' attention as it entered another house. It was quite familiar, what with the smell of cranberries and candle wax. The old stairs looked familiar, too. It frowned.

_My host's old home. _

…_Isn't there supposed to be a child here?_

There was no child to be seen, only emptiness. Its frown deepened. The downside to isolated towns was that there were so few people. If it went to a larger town, however, the chance of running into an Exorcist was high. It sighed. It wanted to try out its new ability as well, but there was not a human in sight to experiment.

_Silence, silence, silence._

_Far too much silence!_

_At least an Exorcist would entertain me._

The idea sounded good in its head as a rumble of thunder seemed to shudder the house. Something was burning, it could smell it. Perhaps a house got struck by lightning? It didn't care. The buildings meant nothing to it, just objects that humans liked to live in. Targets, mostly. Big, glowy, red targets painted in brown hoping to hide. It was absolutely ridiculous how humans thought they were safe inside their 'homes'.

The door behind it creaked. A child stood there, eyes wide, with brown hair and freckles. His overalls were stained with a dark red color that was quickly drying. His hair dripped from the pouring rain. He closed the door behind him and blinked. "You're back already. You have been missing for hours, Father. Where's Mother? Did you find the Fallen One?"

His father just stared at him strangely. It felt like hours before his lips split into a grin, one that looked far too inhuman that warned Carroll of impending danger. He took a step back. "Father…?"

The body shuddered and twisted and contorted into something unearthly. It was taller than a normal man by approximately three feet, with a pointed head and black wings. Its eyes shined with a gold color, but despite how pretty it would have seemed otherwise, it was laced with apparent hatred and desire to kill. _**"Human…"**_

The instinct to flee kicked in. Carroll turned and ran out into the cold and wet and dark, not looking back. He started calling out for somebody, anybody, to help him. No one responded except for the hiss of the bog grass and the splashes of water beneath his feet. He was alone, and for the first time in his life, he was gripped with a terror beyond that he had ever felt. Not even the Fallen One living in his home could top it.

He saw a fire from a building. No one was going to aid it. It reminded him of himself- Helpless, burning, being bright one more time before the inevitable darkness. The fire spread to the next building, despite the rain. It seemed like it was starting to lighten up.

"_**Human!"**_

He tripped.

The Akuma laughed.

Time froze for less than a second, then silence.

The little boy's body turned black, then to dust.

Then nothing.

~X~

"Something's wrong."

Allen, who had been struggling with the intent to get free before Carroll came back, stopped and turned to see Lavi with a look of concern on his face. "What do you mean?"

"I can't put my finger on it." He forced himself to sit up, even though it was obvious it was putting a lot of stress on his body. Allen noted that he hadn't even attempted to move his right arm. He decided not to question why at that moment. "But something's off. I can just feel it."

The British Exorcist tried to say something in response, but his eye began to glow red. He could feel his eyes widen. "An Akuma! Out here?"

Lavi blinked. "Wh-what?"

There was a loud pitch of a boy's scream, then a rumble of thunder, followed by silence. Allen grimaced, then activated Crown Clown. The idea of activating the Innocence to get free had not hit him until then, which made him feel incredibly stupid, but the thought got pushed aside as he quickly untied Lavi. "We have to stop it! Where's you Innocence?"

His mouth fell open, but silence fell out. Instead of answering the question, he said, "I smell something fowl."

The white-haired teen turned. He saw a glow of fire and a break of the sun for a brief moment through the window. It allowed him to see the Akuma walking near another building that wasn't too far from where they were. He lifted up Crown Clown and bashed it up against the door. It crumbled to its might, leaving the way open for them. "Let's go!"

"Allen-!"

The teen sprinted out into the bog, the splashes leading the way. Lavi grimaced. _I can't do anything as is! I'm just going to get in his way. Damn…! _

He followed the noises of the water splashing and tripped several times, but got himself up anyways. He couldn't be useless to Allen, not right then, not when he was going to be needed. He smelled something burning, possibly buildings. Something in his head told him that the kid, Carroll, was already dead. He felt like he should have been sympathetic, but he really wasn't.

Everything was silent then. He had lost track of Allen, and now he was alone. Something was burning close to him, he could hear the crackling and smell the wood on fire. The rain was fading slowly, but he couldn't feel the warmth of the sun on his face. His right arm felt number than before.

He hated the quiet. _"Allen, where are you?"_

Silence.

"_Allen!"_

He had clasped his left hand around his mouth, hoping to make it sound louder, but no one responded. A number of possibilities began to kick into overdrive in his mind. He could have gotten hurt, could have found the Akuma and was fighting out of hearing range, could have been dead, could have been looking for him, could have been doing a numerous amounts of things.

All he knew was that he wasn't right there and that he wasn't responding to anything he said. He took a few more steps forward before tripping again. The water felt cool up against his face, but he ignored that fact and continued to call for his friend.

"_**Exorcist!"**_

Lavi blinked. He didn't look like an Exorcist, he knew that. His clothes were replaced by Carroll's mother to wash. He never did get those back. He turned slowly, and despite his blindness, he could feel its presence.

"_**Perfect for my experiment!"**_

"Where's Allen?" He could feel the rising fear in his throat and in his words. "What did you do?"

"_**The other Exorcist? No match against me. Embedded in ground."**_

_Embedded in ground? __But there is no ground here, only bog!_ Lavi panicked. _If he's in the ground, there's no way he's going to be able to get out! Shit! Wait, he's got Crown Clown. If that thing activates, it'll go right through the bog. I need him now. All I can do is stall until he gets the perfect attack off to beat this thing. _He glared where he thought it was standing. "Then come and get me, Akuma!"

He started running. He didn't know where he was going, he just had to start running. He knew he barely had any strength left as is. His shoulder throbbed at the memory of the nails being embedded into his skin, but he didn't bother clasping it. Instead, he turned left and kept running.

"_**You act like a blind person, Exorcist!" **_The Akuma's voice sounded too close for comfort. _**"You look like you have no idea where you are running to!"**_

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not an Exorcist!" he lied.

"_**The Earl specifically told me to hunt and kill the redheaded Exorcist and the white-haired teenager! You are an Exorcist! Do not lie!"**_

_Shit. Should have figured as much. _He turned again, but this time into a tree. He fell back onto his back and grimaced. He heard the Akuma take a slow step forward, causing rain water to splash. He didn't have to see in order to tell he had reached the end of his tether. The Akuma seemed to laugh.

"_**My ability is to fuse with other humans!" **_it cried. _**"I can absorb you and wear your skin while you are trapped in the back of your brain!"**_

"Stay away from me!" Lavi sat up and backed into a tree. "There is no way in hell am I going to become one of you!"

Something gripped him around the neck, causing his airways to crumble. He gasped loudly as the tree behind him seemed to snap. He could feel his feet no longer touching the wet ground. It was only kicking air. His right arm dangled in defeat as the Akuma laughed again. It nearly made his ear drums want to commit hara-kiri (as Yuu put it). _**"You are much better-looking than the current skin I'm wearing," **_it commented as Lavi tried profusely to get free. _**"I'm glad I found you. Now where's your Innocence?"**_

_My… Innocence…? _He writhed painfully to no avail. _I… lost it… Damn… I would… really like to have… it right… now…_

"_**Hah! Pathetic. You don't even have your Innocence!" **_He could hear the grin in its voice. _**"And to think you would be a challenge!"**_

_Allen… Any time… would be a… good time… _His consciousness gave way, which pleased the Akuma to no end. It placed his body onto the ground and smiled to itself.

"_**Now, to put this skin on…" **_It snapped its large fingers. _**"Merge!"**_

It placed its hand onto Lavi's forehead, just in time for Allen to see. Bog grass and water clung to his clothes and hair, bruises covering his skin. Crown Clown was activated, its white cloak flowing behind him. It was a terrible scene before him- The Akuma was merging with Lavi as a fire raged in the background, all the while the sky was dyed with black ink.

"Leave him alone!" Allen charged towards it, but it was far passed the saving point. It rose in Lavi's body, grinning. The Akuma's wings split through his back, however, making it evident that it was indeed the Akuma and not Lavi. "Give him back, now!"

The laughter was harsh. It could have broken windows if they had not been already shattered by the fire. By the looks of it, tears even formed in its eyes. _**"And if I refuse, Exorcist? What's it like, seeing your friend fight against you?"**_

_Again? _Allen frowned at the thought. _I bet Lavi is still in there._

"_**The upside though is that so long as I'm in this body, the only person you can hurt is him," **_it commented. Allen's eyes grew wide with the information given. _**"That's right. Until you can figure out how to get me out of this body, your friend here gets all the damage. And it's sad, really. He looks hurt enough already, don't you think?"**_

"Leave him alone."

The fire in the background had nothing compared to the fires of rage Allen had. The wind picked up as the rain increased in its entirety. He gripped Crown Clown's hilt tighter as he took another step towards the Akuma. "If you do anything to hurt Lavi, I will make sure your death is slow. I will make sure you suffer as much as I do when I have to put up with Kanda on missions. And trust me." His eyes glinted with anger. "That is more than you could_ ever_ imagine."

It laughed and shrugged. _**"Too bad, Exorcist. Say, what if, in theory, I had the idea to, oh, I don't know, hurt this body myself?" **_It picked up a familiar knife- It was Carroll's when he was cutting them up. _**"What if I stabbed myself right now?"**_

His fingers lost their life. Crown Clown seemed uneasy, the same emotion he was feeling. The Akuma clearly had the advantage at that moment, but he figured he was a bit more clever. There had to be a way he could have done something to get them out of there without getting Lavi or himself killed. "A good body like that?" Allen rose an eyebrow. "You really want to get rid of it that quickly?"

The Akuma hesitated, the knife lowering. It frowned. _**"You raise a good point. Instead, I'll kill you first, then finish your friend!"**_

"Sounds like a good plan." _And I need one, fast. There's only one way to do this correctly, and that's by doing something risky. I don't even think it'll work. But it's the only shot I got. _He attached the sword back to the joint to reform his hand and surrounded himself by his cloak. The Akuma laughed.

"_**You think that'll work, fool? Think again!"**_

The Akuma lunged towards him, one of Lavi's arms turning into a monstrous claw in the process. It was going to hit Allen's chest directly, and he knew it. He braced for impact as the Akuma shrieked.

"_**Die, Exorcist!"**_

~X~

The two had landed to where they thought was close to the town. They didn't want to show up by flying. That could have gotten strange looks. They had started running towards the town when Kanda stopped. Lenalee kept going for a few more seconds before she stopped running as well, looking confused. "What is it, Kanda?"

He bent down, silent, as he picked up a small hammer. It was slick with rain water and pieces of bog had clung to it, but there was no doubt in his mind that it was indeed the damned Baka Usagi's hammer. It was glowing for whatever reason. "He's somewhere around here." He held the Innocence up, making Lenalee gasp with surprise. "We're getting close, at the very least."

"I'm shocked that you even saw that, Kanda." She took the hammer out of his hands and held it firmly. "But with the glow it's giving off, I'm not too surprised…" Her eyes glanced back towards the horizon line. She blinked, then looked closer. "Hey… what's with the weird glow in the distance over there?"

The Japanese man blinked, then followed to where her finger was pointing. He didn't see what she was talking about at first, but when he squinted, he could see a faint yellow-ish orange glowing against the dark clouds. His frown deepened. "That looks something like a fire, if you ask me. How could there be a fire with this much rain? The wood of the houses would be drenched at this point."

She nodded in agreement. "Unless it was a sparked fire, like lightning. The houses are pretty tall, compared to the rest of the bog."

"Che. Let's hurry in that case. People may need our help."

She rose an eyebrow. "Are you caring about other people, Kanda?"

He glared at her dangerously, but she laughed and grasped his hand before activating her Innocence. They shot up into the sky once more and headed towards the town, or rather, the remains of the town. The fire had completely raged through the small town, every building, destroyed. There were no signs of life. Lenalee's face paled as Kanda approached it and yelled loudly to see if there were any survivors. When no one responded, every hope that Lenalee had of finding her friends were crushed. She fell to her knees and wailed.

Kanda, meanwhile, continued looking. He ran passed the burning buildings, yelling out to see if anyone, _anyone, _was there. As he approached the last house, it became pretty evident that no one was there. He grimaced, then turned when he heard a sound of something crunching. It was the sound that bones made whenever they were being splintered or broken. He knew it quite well- often his own bones would make that sound, but they would immediately heal.

His eyes widened.

Lenalee, who had finally got herself to calm down, rushed up to him. Her eyes were still partially wet with tears, but the ones that had fallen were gone. "Kan-"

She stopped as she turned to see what he was staring at. Her own eyes grew wide. Her body began to shut down at the sight. Everything fell silent as she stared aimlessly at the worst sight in the world. She felt her legs give way once more and fell to her knees, still staring. Her lips, as dry as they were, barely parted and managed to whisper,

"Allen… kun…?"

~X~

Woo-hoo! Chapter 15, done! ^.^ So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor. That kind of ended at a slightly depressing/worrisome note, didn't it? Oh well~ See what happens next time in Chapter 16! See you there! -Mr. Ree


	16. Fight for a Friend

Yo! Welcome to Chapter 16 of 'Linked'! …I have to tell you right now, though. This might go on hiatus because I feel terrible. I'm having panic attacks and no matter how much I eat I can't seem to stay full. Sorry if I disappear for a few months. Just a forewarning for all of you. So, with that aside, let us commence forthwith with Chapter 16 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

~X~

16. Fight for a Friend

Battered and bloody, she almost didn't recognize him. There were bruises, too, and was not moving. Crown Clown had surrounded him, but it looked like it didn't do anything. Allen wasn't moving. Why wasn't he moving? He had to move, they were going to go home together and talk and laugh and possibly get him and Lavi to hit it off (though with Lavi's own complications, that probably wouldn't happen) and be alive. Why didn't he look alive anymore?

However, out of the two of them, she couldn't recognize Lavi at all. The wings were the first thing, but after that all she could see that was exactly him was his hair. The posture was wrong, his eye was lit with enjoyment and hate, fingers elongated… He was just evil. It wasn't Lavi anymore, it was something that was the equivalent of an Akuma.

He dropped Allen out of his hands. The body landed too heavily. There were many thuds she had heard before, but that one was just wrong. It wasn't like what Kanda did when Bookman managed to get a blow in. He would slam up accidentally against the wall and keep going. It wasn't the kind of thud books made when they fell off the table. Lavi was generally the one dropping them and he'd make sure to pick them up.

Point being, whenever something gave off a thud, they typically rise back up.

Allen wasn't rising at all. He was still.

"Allen… kun?"

Lavi grinned. It wasn't that familiar grin, the one where he was about to make a joke or say something stupid, it was a devilish grin, one enjoying the fact that Allen wasn't moving. He turned towards them and laughed. "Exorcists," he greeted.

Mugen was out and ready for a fight. Kanda wasn't taking chances, Lenalee could see that, but she definitely didn't agree with it. She shook her head. "You can't hurt him! That can't be Lavi! It's got to be an Akuma possessing him!"

"All the more the reason to attack." Kanda had a dead-serious expression on his face. "We have to. If he's-"

"But he's still Lavi! Lavi's got to be in there!" She began clawing at him. "Put Mugen away! We can't attack the Akuma until he's out of Lavi! I don't want another of my friend's to die!"

"We have no choice."

"Kand-!"

He didn't listen to her further. He knew what she was trying to get at, but he had to put those feelings aside. Friends often turned to Akuma sometimes. No matter what, the job of an Exorcist came first. He smiled bitterly. In that way, they were just soldiers. When it came down to it, that was all they really were.

Fighters for a war.

Lavi evaded the first strike, a grin dancing on his features still, as his claws retaliated. Mugen parried, and the two exchanged looks before they both backed up away from each other and attacked once more. Kanda took a wrong step and his leg ended up in a deep pool of water. It was all that was needed for the Akuma-Lavi to land a heavy blow against the Japanese man. He managed to block some, but it still wasn't enough. He got thrown back into the bog, leaving Lenalee to fight on her own.

"No… Lavi, wake up!" Her Dark Boots were activated already, she just didn't want to use them. Fighting her friend was the worst thing that could ever happen. She grimaced. This was what Allen must have felt like when he fought Rhode back in the Ark. Even then it nearly completely destroyed her. But now that she was in his position, fighting Lavi when he wasn't completely right, it was going to tear her heart out and feed it to a starving dog. "Wake up…"

"_**A pretty Exorcist," **_the Akuma commented. The wings flapped with each word that passed. _**"A very pretty Exorcist. Heh heh heh."**_

He lunged himself towards her as her internal war raged on. She jumped up to avoid, but he just followed her. She had no other choices- Did she fight back? Or did he allow him to kill her? Her eyes started to well up again as Akuma-Lavi began attacking more viciously. She kept managing to dodge, however, so it wasn't doing him any favors.

_No, no, no! What am I going to do? _She evaded again, though he managed to create a tear on one of her sleeves. _I can't hurt him. I have to get him stuck or something. I have to stop him from moving. But how? _She glanced around at her surroundings. It clicked. _I need to find a deep patch of the bog, fast. _

She ran across the water until she saw a nice little pool that seemed deep and ran towards it. The Akuma chased her, trying to shoot her down, but she kept dodging. She reached it and stood in the middle, glaring it down.

"_**Done running already?" **_The Akuma grinned widely, then lunged itself at her. _**"In that case, you might as well die!"**_

She didn't say anything. Instead, she waited for it to be just a few mere inches away from her before she leaped up into the air. However, the Akuma wasn't quite so lucky. It had gone too fast towards the water and splashed into it. It looked up to see Lenalee's Dark Boots coming down upon its head. As a result, it went many feet below the water's surface. She blinked, then gasped.

_That wasn't what I meant to do! Lavi's in-_

The water splashed loudly as the beating of wings caught her undivided attention. The Akuma was back, but in its original body. Its claw grabbed Lenalee by the neck and grinned. _**"You fool. Instead of harming me, you are now going to make him drown!" **_Its grip tightened, causing her to struggle harder. She tried nailing him again with her Innocence, but to no avail. _**"I get to kill three Exorcists today! And when I'm done with you, I'll go after the other guy that's still unconscious! Hah hah hah! The Earl will be so pleased."**_

_No… I can't allow him… I need… to save Lavi…_

…_Allen-kun…_

The Akuma seemed to hesitate, then screeched loudly as Crown Clown's Edge stuck through its chest. Lenalee's eyes widened as it cut the Akuma in two, making it let go off her and revealing a very tired-looking Allen. "Rest in peace."

"_**But… I thought… I'd killed you!" **_it yelled.

"In the middle of your charge, I re-opened my old wounds that had just recently healed and blocked your attack with Crown Clown." Allen withdrew the sword, which caused the Akuma to begin to evaporate. "I looked dead, but I'm not. Not yet, anyways."

"…_**Curse… you… Exorcist…!"**_

It vanished into the dark clouds and the blue sky behind them. Allen re-attached his arm and leant a hand to Lenalee, who was still having trouble standing up. "Sorry I didn't come here faster. I had to make sure Kanda was okay." He glanced around. "Where's Lavi? The Akuma was in its original body when I stabbed it. That must mean you managed to get him out of there."

She quickly re-collected her thoughts before responding. Her eyes widened as her mouth fell open. "A-Allen-kun…!"

He blinked, confused. "What?"

"He's… Lavi's…!" Her words and grammar seemed to lose form when she opened her mouth again. "I attacked him and I attacked him too hard and the Akuma it decided to let the body go and when it came up Lavi didn't and he's still down in the water oh God Allen-kun I'm so sorry I never meant to hurt him I'm so terrible he's gonna die!"

He stared at her for a few seconds before glancing at the pool of water. He activated Crown Clown. "Lenalee," he said, "I don't blame you." He looked over his shoulder and smiled at her. "I'm going to get Lavi back. And you're going to help me." He pulled the mask over his eyes and began walking into the water until he had to start to swim in order to stay above the water's surface. She stared at him in confusion as he said, "Now hit me with your Dark Boots."

"Wh-what?"

"We have no time!" he yelled loudly enough for her to flinch. "Hit me with your Dark Boots as hard as you hit him and I'll find him. Hurry!"

She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. The chances of him, let alone Lavi, coming out this alive were slim to none. However, she had to believe in him. If she let him down now, he would wish he were dead. She nodded once before shooting herself up into the sky. She took in a deep breath, then plummeted downwards and nailed Allen on the shoulder, sending him into the dark depths of the water.

"…Please…" she whispered as she moved back towards the water's edge. "Please, God, make them both live… Make sure they come out safe…"

~X~

_Dark… It's so dark…_

_Suffocating…_

_I don't… understand… I can't… breathe…_

_Lenalee? …Yuu? … …Allen?_

_Where are you guys?_

"_Lavi."_

The redhead blinked and glanced over his shoulder. _"Hey, Allen. Did the advice I give you come to your assistance?"_

The boy fidgeted, as if not knowing what to say. _"Not yet. I haven't… gotten the nerve to tell the person I like that yet. I don't think I have the courage." _He looked down onto the floor, ashamed. _"But your advice was good."_

"_It's no good if you don't try." _He grabbed another book out of the bookshelf and plopped his collection onto the table. _"I want you to go up to her and confess. Lenalee'll no doubt accept your feelings. I think she likes you, too."_

There was a pause. Lavi glanced at him with a look of indifference on his face. The boy was still looking at the floor. _"It _is_ Lenalee, right? Don't tell me it's Miranda. She's way too old for you. Same with Klaud Nine. And any other girl. Let's face it, Allen, you have no chance with any women except for Lenalee. Lucky."_

"_What if…" _Allen bit his lower lip. _"What if… the person I like isn't a girl?"_

Silence. Lavi had completely lost interest in his books at that moment and stared at the short Exorcist. He never, in a million years, thought that Allen Walker was gay. Not that there was a problem with that, but it just shocked him. He frowned, then reclined back in his chair. "Well… It's the same thing. You have to go up to him and tell him in however feel right to you, I guess." Now his mind was racing through possibilities. Kanda (well, they did argue a lot), Krory (which was just wrong), his own Master (though that would be kind of weird, in his opinion), Komui (run away screaming)… He frowned as Allen began to come closer towards him.

…Him?

"_Lavi," _he said in the most serious tone in the world.

_Oh no. Oh, no. _Lavi could feel a bead of sweat run down the side of his face. _Shit. No, this kid is stupid if it's me. I'm a Bookman-in-training. Can't do that._

"_Lavi," _he repeated as he stood before him. He looked up at the redhead with soft eyes and a nervous look on his face. _"Lavi, I…"_

_Shit. Shit. Shit. Don't say it. Don't fucking say it…_

"_I like you."_

…_Damn it._

The situation got about as awkward as an elephant trying to molest a camel. He tried to remain calm at the given information, which was almost as difficult as not playing with Kanda's hair. He found himself biting his lower lip out of agony. Quite frankly, he preferred women, not men. Allen was a guy. And besides, he couldn't attach to people. That was just not him. However, the information was interesting. He could possibly make it fun, even though there was no chance in hell that he would start to like Allen as well.

"_Is that so?"_

The boy nodded. _"Yes… And I know you like girls. I just wanted you to know. I'm sorry if it's a burden to you."_

_Ouch. _The guilt whacked him upside the heart and made it elevate a little higher. _Hell, I hate it when he does that. All I can do is feel sorry for him whenever he does that… _He looked at his suddenly interesting books before resting his chin on the stack. _And burden me… I won't even remember you after this war. I'll just forget you like I did everyone else in the past. You're just ink in my notebook._

…

…_Does that make me horrible?_

He heard the sound of shuffling. Allen was leaving the library, his shoulders partially slumped. It was obvious that he had gotten his hopes up. The Bookman apprentice sighed out of annoyance. Despite the fact that he didn't 'like' the kid, he didn't want him to hurt too badly. He rationalized in his head to at least give the kid a shot. After all, he did like it when girls tried to get his attention. He could only be fair. _"Tell you what, Allen."_

The boy stopped half-way out the library door. _"Yes?"_

"_Let's make a bet." _The redhead was grinning, trying to pretend that Allen would actually have a chance. _"The next time we're on a mission, I'll give you the duration of it to get me to like you. If you win me over, well, I'm all yours. If you don't, you have to give up all the feelings you have for me, no questions asked." _The redhead raised an eyebrow. _"Does it sound like a deal?"_

There was a pause, but Allen nodded all the while.

"_You're on."_

_You already lost the game, though. _Lavi waved as the boy left the library, his grin immediately falling to a frown. _I'm sorry, Allen, but this is just going to have to teach you that life isn't fair. I don't like you as a friend, let alone as a lover. I'm just going to have to severe that link that makes you think you like me._

…

…_I _am _horrible._

The memory shifted as he tried to open his eyes. It was nothing but dark around him, however. His lungs throbbed in pain as he tried to inhale. Water entered his mouth and nose, but he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't even see a speckle of light. He was incredibly deep beneath the surface of the water. Even so, that didn't stop him from trying to swim. His hands flailed desperately as he tried to pull himself up, but they didn't do him any good. His shoulders were throbbing.

Carroll's injuries were returning in ten-fold.

_Shit. Is this it? _He tried again with the same result. _Am I gonna die? Fuck, and of drowning, too. What a way to go. _

His lungs protested as he tried to gulp in imaginary air when instead it was water. Desperation kicked in, and all logical thoughts gave way to a will to live. Adrenaline pumped into his system and all pain was ignored as he forced himself to swim. His right arm refused to budge. He grimaced._ Shit, still paralyzed. Damn, damn, damn!_

Water began to fill his lungs, his consciousness slipping. Desperation wasn't going to save him now. What he needed was a miracle, and quick, or else he was done for. He faded in and out, completely out of air, as he felt something grasp a hold of his wrist. He already knew who it was. His voice was echoing in the recesses of his mind the same why it did when he was stuck in Rhode's world.

"_Lavi!"_

~X~

Woo-hoo! Chapter 16 (though it's a bit short...), done! So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! It would be greatly appreciated! We're over fifty now! You guys are so awesome. Also, happy ending or sad ending- Which do you prefer? I need ideas. Heh heh heh. Anyways. See you in Chapter 17 (whenever it comes out…)! -Mr. Ree


	17. Broken Chain

Attempt number 4 for this chapter! (I delete every chapter at least three times. That way, I know it's the best it can be.) Hello! Welcome to Chapter 17 of 'Linked'! I'm sorry for the delay. I was busy with other things, and I'm making a full recovery. Woo-hoo! So, let's ignore me. Let us commence forthwith with Chapter 17 of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

~X~

17. Broken Chain

The water was dark. Barely any light penetrated where he was, but he didn't care. His arms were outstretched as he swam further. Part of him Lenalee held back a little, just so that she wouldn't hurt him, but it cost him in how deep he went. He needed to touch the bottom. He knew that much. Lavi was more than likely located there. However, he was running out of time.

Crown Clown hit something. He blinked, then touched the bottom of the pool. It was squishy, but he didn't even think about what was down there. Air was starting to become an issue, however he kept walking along the bottom, feeling his way around, even though there was nothing there. Once he touched something, he would know that it was Lavi. There would be no doubt in his mind.

"_You like Lavi?" _Lenalee rose an eyebrow. _"That's definitely something I never expected…"_

"_Yes, well…" _He glanced sideways and bit his lower lip. _"I… Something about him, I don't know what… I just do. You know?" _He frowned. _"I know it's technically illegal to like someone of the same gender, but…"_

She smiled. It was obvious to him that she didn't care if he was gay, she still thought of him as a friend. That was the greatest thing about Lenalee. _"Allen-kun," _she said, then glanced out the window. _"I'm just worried for your sake. Lavi is… you know, a bit mysterious and… You saw what happened when Rhode invaded his mind. She said something about him just being an 'observer', a 'recorder'. I don't know if he'll ever like you back. Are you okay with that?"_

"_I am. Or rather, I will have to be."_

"_Allen-kun…"_

_I know that my feelings could be rejected. _Allen felt his way around before his fingers brushed up against something. Skin? He forced his legs to move faster when it moved away. _I know that Lavi may never like me back. However, it's better to know that I tried and got rejected than to hold them back. And, more than anything… I just want him to know. That's all I want. For him to know._

His hand extended, then clasped around something. It was Lavi's wrist. He pulled him closer and held onto him before rearing back and throwing Crown Clown with the Belt attached as hard as he could. He tugged onto it, and started swimming upwards, his air running dangerously low.

_No matter what… I'll stay as his friend. _

It began to hurt to not breathe as his hand stop moving. He stared at the darkness and felt himself moving back to where he started. Crown Clown didn't make it, and neither was he. He was going to die.

…_That's… more than enough than I can ask for._

…_Lavi…_

~X~

Three minutes passed into four. Lenalee began pacing, her hands nervously twitching. Allen hadn't come back. Lavi hadn't come back. The clock was ticking. She knew that a human body could survive three minutes without oxygen, but it was past that point. She was tempted to go in there after them, but the chances of actually finding them were slim. She paced again as Kanda, after he recovered completely, came over with a confused look on his face. "Che. What's the problem?"

"It's… Allen-kun," she replied, and then began sobbing. "He went in there after Lavi… and he still hasn't come out yet…!" She wailed loudly. "I kicked him there! I let him go after him, and now both of them aren't going to come out!"

The Japanese man stared at her, then slapped her across the face. She looked bewildered as he glared at her. "Get a hold of yourself. Moyashi is not the type to just drown. It would be a cold day in Hell before that happens." He stared at the water. "He always finds a way to get out of trouble, no matter how many times I try to kill him myself. Water should not be an exception."

She blinked once, then nodded. "You're… right," she said quietly. "Allen-kun will find him and come back. You're right."

Shortly afterwards, Crown Clown came flying out of the water. Both of them stared at it in shock as the Belt came after it and connected with the ground. It began to go back towards the water when the two looked at each other and grabbed onto it.

"He probably has no energy to pull himself up!" Kanda tugged on it with force. "Lenalee, you hold onto Crown Clown and I'll pull on the Belt!"

"Right!"

She held onto Crown Clown as the samurai began pulling the white strip of fabric out of the water. The weight that was attached to it was beyond Moyashi's weight alone, even if he were wet. _He found him, then. Che. _He pulled on it some more when a gloved hand came out of the water, the fabric wrapped around it tightly. Kanda let go of the Belt and clasped both hand around the bean sprout's wrist, pulling both him and the idiotic rabbit out of the water.

Lenalee threw Crown Clown aside and began pawing over them. "Allen-kun, Lavi! Can you two hear me? Guys?"

"They're not breathing," Kanda replied. He pried Lavi out of Allen's grasp and laid him on his back. "We have to perform emergency CPR. Can you do that?"

She nodded and laid Allen on his back, then began to pound at his chest. They had to live, they just had to. She was not going home without them. She was not going to allow them to die, not here, not now. They were going home together.

"Come on, Allen-kun," she whispered. She tried again only to fail again. "Breathe. Wake up, open your eyes! Allen-kun!"

She plugged his nose and, with slight regret because she knew he would want Lavi to do it instead, connected her lips with his and breathed into him. Kanda, in the meantime, lifted up Mugen and connected the hilt to the redhead's chest with far-too-hard force, causing the idiot to start coughing and spewing up bog water. He gagged. "Y-Yuu… that was a bit… harsh, don't you think?"

"Che." He glared at him, then glanced at Lenalee. Allen wasn't moving. His frown deepened as she pounded at his chest, yelling and begging for him to wake up. Lavi just sat there and stared, partially confused.

"What… happened?"

"According to Lenalee, you were in the water. Moyashi, like an idiot, went after you," he explained, sheathing Mugen. "Now he's not breathing."

"What?"

"Allen-kun!" Lenalee's efforts dwindled as hope became an object of imagination. She sobbed and buried her face in her hands. "You've got to wake up, you have to…! Allen-kun…!"

Lavi felt like he should have been sad. In fact, he was sad, but it didn't feel like he was sad enough. He had to harden his heart, that was all there was to it. He got up off the ground, coughing a little again, and patted Lenalee on the shoulder. She was terribly upset, anyone could have seen that.

"_Don't try and help."_

His grip on Lenalee's shoulder subconsciously became tighter. She blinked and looked up at him, but he didn't hear her calling his name. All he could hear was Deke's persistent talking. The image of himself frowned.

"_If you help, you're getting involved. We are to be neutral, to be on the sidelines. If you dare to attempt to help that boy, then you are a failure of a Bookman, a failure of your dream." _The image rose an eyebrow. _"You surely don't want that to happen, do you? To lose your dream over a temporary friend? Think, Lavi. What do you really want?"_

He was hurting Lenalee at that point as he gritted his teeth. Allen wasn't breathing. Lenalee was probably not strong enough at that point to bring him back to life. The human body couldn't survive without oxygen for long. Nothing out of the mammals could. His expression became pained. _Just this once? If I let Allen die, then Lenalee and the others will lose their effectiveness in battle. The war would already be over, and we haven't learned as much as we could about the Noah. And if the Noah win, there would be no Bookmen. Ever thought of that?_

"_You're desperate."_

_So? I have a point. I'll lose my dream permanently if I let him die._

Deke said nothing in response. Lavi won the argument. He pushed Lenalee aside without much thought and began to do the CPR instead. He placed his left hand on top of his right so that it would still be effective, even though it was paralyzed. He could hear the huff in the back of his mind and could see the glare from Bookman's face. They would be upset, but they would have to deal with it. He was not letting Allen die when he had the opportunity to help him.

"You saved me from Carroll," he said, seeing the hands-to-chest method not working. "It's my turn to repay the favor! Allen!" He plugged his nose and breathed into him as much as he could before breaking away.

Immediately, the boy began coughing. Lavi sat there, partially stunned. The chances of that actually happening were virtually zero. However, he wasn't going to say he was upset at the outcome. Lenalee was crying again, only this time out of happiness as Allen's eyes opened slowly. "Lavi…?"

The redhead got up and walked away, frowning. He wasn't one for the entire 'yay we did it' sort of thing. He approached Kanda and grinned. "Sorry I made you have to come and rescue me, Yuu."

"Che." The Japanese man tossed him a small object that he caught one-handed. He blinked and recognized it immediately. It was his hammer. "Lose it again and you'll be more than sorry."

"Heh heh." He put the hammer in his pocket. "I'm gonna need a new Exorcist uniform. I think it burned in the flames." He frowned. "This town is completely dead, isn't it? Everyone was turned to dust by that Akuma… Komui's not going to be pleased…" He glanced over his shoulder and noticed Allen was staring at him, despite Lenalee's hugging and talking. He was waiting for something. An answer, no doubt.

An answer to the bet.

Lavi bit his lower lip. He felt guilty how he was going to reject the kid, even though he brought him back to life. He just stared back and smiled sheepishly as Lenalee helped him up to his feet. Allen staggered a bit as the clouds finally moved away and the sun began to shine again. It took Lavi a moment to realize something.

"…I…" He blinked again. "I can see…?"

Kanda looked at him. "Che. Is there a problem that you can see? Idiot."

"No, no! I was blind before!" He looked around and kept blinking. "But… But that woman said that my sight wasn't going to come back…" He lifted up his right arm and frowned. "However, this is still paralyzed… But how?"

"Maybe miracles do exist. Or maybe near-death experiences help or something. Che. Why the fuck are you bitching?"

He laughed sheepishly. "I guess I'm not."

Allen walked over with Lenalee's help and smiled faintly. Kanda frowned and looked away, not caring for his existence, but the British Exorcist could have cared less at that moment. "Lavi."

The redhead glanced at him, then to Lenalee, who had a slightly sad look on her face. Did she know or something? He side-glanced in order to avoid looking at Allen right in the eyes. The guilt would have overwhelmed him if he did. "We should probably start heading back to the town and get train and boat tickets. We hafta get back to the Order," he said, grinning sheepishly. He could feel Allen's glare without even looking at it. "Lenalee, you can take-"

"Kanda," she replied. He stared at her, flabbergasted. "I'll take Kanda and you and Allen can use your hammer to get back. Surely that wouldn't be a problem… Would it?"

He knew that tone. It was the 'you-are-not-getting-out-of-this' tone. She knew what was going on, she definitely knew. "N-No, of course not…" When she glared at him, he added, "It would be my pleasure! You and Kanda can go. We'll be right behind you!"

She smiled the fakest smile he had ever seen on her face. "That's very kind of you, Lavi. Shall we go now, Kanda?"

He looked at her strangely, but before he could respond, she re-activated Dark Boots and grabbed him by the hand. Immediately they shot up, leaving Lavi, who was trying to remain calm, with Allen, who was glaring at him. Silence ensued as the redhead sheepishly laughed and pulled out the hammer he had put in his pocket.

"Lavi."

_Oh, no. _Lavi swallowed hard and grinned. "Yeah?"

"I want you to be sincere." He clasped his hands around his face, making it so that he couldn't look away. "I want you to be as honest as humanly possible and tell me. I want to know, since this mission is over, if I won the bet."

At first, he couldn't speak. Allen really wanted to know, be it an unfavorable or favorable answer. He already knew what the answer was. Deep down, he knew he could never like Allen, let alone love him. A Bookman couldn't do that. "I… Sorry, Allen." _Be quick, make the blow fatal_. "You lost. In fact, you lost from the beginning." _Make it so that he won't even think of it again. Make it so that he'll give up. _"I don't like you, period. I never liked you, never have." _Make him __hate__ you. _"Truth be told, I want nothing to deal with you. Sorry."

Quick and simple, over and done with. Lavi kept his heart rate under control as Allen just stared at him, hands still clasped around his face. After a moment, he let his hands drop back to his sides. He nodded. "Okay," he replied. "Okay. Now I know. Thank you."

…_Thank you? _He blinked once as the British Exorcist clasped his hands around the handle of the hammer. _Thank you? _He held on tightly to the handle with his left hand as well before he uttered the command 'Extend'._ I don't… understand. Thank you… Thank you? _The hammer's handle moved slowly as the main town came into view. From where they were, he could spot Kanda and Lenalee.

However, from where he was hanging, he could hear nothing but the quiet but controlled sobs of Allen Walker. He grimaced and pretended he couldn't hear them. Somewhere he read once said that 'rejection is the one pain we all fear, and when we are rejected, it tears our soul in two'. He didn't really believe in that, not until now. He glanced back, but Allen was no longer crying. He was smiling. They were where Kanda and Lenalee were.

Lenalee smiled as they dropped where the main town was. Kanda had something slung over his shoulder- a body bag? -and was scowling. "Shall we go now? I got the train tickets in the time it took you to get here."

"Yes," Allen nodded.

She smiled at him, and the three walked on ahead. Lavi lagged behind, confusion seeping into his system. Something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. There was definitely guilt, yes. He made Allen cry, after all, and he was feeling sorry for it. But there was something else, too. Something that made him want to punch himself, something that made him want to get hit by a train, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It was there, but it wasn't there.

"Lavi! Hurry up! You're going to miss the train otherwise!"

He blinked and noticed that his friends had gone on ahead of him. Lenalee was waving for him to hurry up, so he ran over to the station and got on board.

He had to forget about it. Whatever it was, it wasn't important.

Or so he thought.

~X~

Woo-hoo! Chapter 17, done! Truth be told, I thought I was gonna end it with this chapter, but apparently not. There is a little bit more that I should cover. So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! See you in 18! -Mr. Ree


	18. High Octane Emotion Fuel

WOW! Update! It's an update, everyone! YEAH! Anyways, welcome to Chapter 18 of 'Linked'! It's been a while, neh? Sorry. I've been focused on 'Drugtionary'… Ahahaha… But this is coming to an end! Woo-hoo! Right! So let's kick this off and let us commence forthwith with Chapter 18 of 'Linked', for real! Yatta! ^.^

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

~X~

18. High Octane Emotion Fuel

The train ride lasted longer than he had hoped. Lenalee attended to Lavi's injuries, which were partially healed by being submerged under the water for an amount of time. His arm, however, still wasn't budging no matter how hard they tried to get it to move. Allen was strangely quiet as the train chugged along towards the town with the boat port. Lavi was also quiet, only making the occasional whine whenever Lenalee touched something sensitive. Link was obviously not speaking.

The place, aside from the sounds of the train, was quiet, and it pissed Kanda off.

It was as if they had never retrieved them from there. He was expecting Allen, at the very least, to be concerned about Lenalee or him or, Hell, Lavi, who was suffering the most, but no, he was just staring out the goddamn window. He twitched as Lenalee pulled out another nail that had been embedded into the redhead's shoulder.

"At least the injuries are clean," she commented. "I'm not sure if I should pull them out now or later. Are you certain you can't feel them?"

He nodded. "I think the paralysis from my right arm fully extended to my shoulder, so I honestly can't feel a thing. I can feel them whenever they move a little, but I feel no pain. However— _ow! _—whenever you try and touch the bruises, that hurts like hell."

"Sorry." She withdrew her hand before pulling out the nails. The flesh around them began filling up with blood as she took them out, much to Kanda's displeasure. It was creepier when the Baka Usagi wasn't even flinching when she did it. She ruffled through her bag as she dug out a needle and frowned. "I'm going to sew them up for now. When we get back to the Order, we're going to go get you admitted to the hospital."

"Oh God, not with the Matron! She'll keep me there forever!"

She glared at him. "You're lucky to be alive, Lavi. Stop complaining, alright?"

He knew that look. She hated discussing her friends injuries as is, and he was just making it difficult. He nodded. "All right."

She began sewing up the small holes to prevent more blood from coming out while Kanda just glared at the bean sprout. He was too still, far too still. Annoyed, he pulled his sword out of its sheathe and bonked the British Exorcist on the head with it.

Allen didn't budge. He didn't even _blink._

_Something's really wrong. _He frowned. _As much as I hate to admit it, despite my imminent hatred for him, I don't like this. What the hell happened to him?_

The train ride continued until they reached their station. Lavi was in slightly better shape, though he still looked pale. However, that didn't stop him from acting like an idiot. He tried too hard, though. His grin became goofier, his attitude, more aloof. Lenalee was also starting to notice as she gave Kanda a 'what's-going-on' glance. He only shrugged a little, honestly not knowing or giving a damn (as far as anyone else could tell).

Things became stranger as they continued to walk. Whenever Lavi started slowing down, Allen started speeding up. Whenever Lavi started to walk faster, Allen slowed to a crawl behind the two confused Exorcists. The redhead was talking more than usual, too, as the other was silent and withdrawn. It continued all the way to the boat and on the boat. For the first time in his life, the British Exorcist requested a room with Kanda and _only _Kanda. Lavi seemed perfectly fine with that and didn't even comment on how badly they were going to beat each other up.

Now they _definitely_ knew something was wrong.

The night cloaked the sky in its beautiful fashion as Allen opened up his trunk to get his nightwear. The boat wouldn't arrive in England until late in the afternoon the next day, and then after that it was another train ride towards the Order. He needed a plan to hide from the redhead as much as he could. He didn't want to admit it, but the blow was more fatal than he thought. His heart ached as he closed the trunk.

"So, explain something to me, Moyashi," Kanda said, staring at the ceiling. "Why the fuck are you sleeping in the same goddamn room as me? And why just me? Why can't the Baka Usagi sleep in the same room as us?"

He didn't respond.

"Oi."

Again, there was silence at the other end of the conversation.

"Hey, fucktard over there who the Earl is a million times better than and will soon be his slave due to you becoming a traitor like a moron that you are. Answer my fucking question. Why are you in the same room as me?"

"I'm not in the mood to fight with you, Kanda."

"Good. Get out."

"What?"

"You heard me." He picked up Allen's bag and put it outside the front of the cabin. "I don't want you in my room. Go room with Baka Usagi."

"But—!"

It was too late. Kanda kicked him out of the room faster than any other time he had been kicked out of a room. He stared at the wooden wall before standing up and sighing. He had no other choices. He had to go see Lavi and ask if he could stay with him. His heart pounded with a hurt feeling as he slowly trudged towards the room. The boat was swaying in the ocean slowly, the rocking a nice feeling if you were trying to sleep. Or at least, that was his opinion.

He knocked the door once in a careful manner, then got the nerve to knock again. Lavi answered the door, confused and tired-looking, then noticed it was Allen and nearly had a heart attack. _Shit! Why is he here? I thought he was staying with Yuu-chan!_

"Uh, Lavi… Uhm…" The situation was awkward, to say the very least. "K-Kanda kind of kicked me out of his room for whatever reason, and I can't go to Lenalee's room because I'd end up dead. So…" He fidgeted a little, biting his lower lip while speaking. "…so… can I sleep here? Just for tonight?"

"Uh, sure. But I got a one-bed room, remember?" The redhead frowned. "You care if you sleep on the floor?"

"That's fine." The floor is made of wood, though…

Lavi nodded and let him in, immediately returning to his bed and covering himself up with the blankets. Allen closed the door and paused before taking another step. He knew Lavi wanted nothing to do with him. He was to be forgotten in history, like everyone else he had met. He laid down on the floor near the door, using his elbow as his pillow as he stared at the wooden door. The floor was not doing him any favors as the boat rocked on in the night. It stung at his sides, especially.

"Oh… why is Timcanpy sleeping with Lenalee tonight?" he muttered, edging closer towards the door and laying on his back. "I could have used him as a pillow…"

He closed his eyes and pretended he was elsewhere, but it didn't work. He grimaced before sitting up and pressing his back against the wall. He couldn't sleep like this, but he couldn't ask Lavi to share, either. He was stuck in a lose-lose situation.

_Why the hell did I tell him? _He banged his head off the wall repeatedly. _I'm such an idiot. If only I kept my mouth shut, we wouldn't be in this problem. This is all my fault. I'm so sorry, Lavi. I forced my feelings on you, and now we can't even seem to stay in the same room without it feeling incredibly awkward. I'm such an idiot_. He sighed heavily, staring at the ceiling. _Stupid. That's the word for it. This is stupid. I should just get over it already. Then it wouldn't hurt so much. But I can't. I just… can't._

He hugged his knees to his chest, burying his head in his arms. The temptation to just bawl his eyes out was there, and he tried his best to ignore it, but a small whimper opened the floodgate for him. "It… hurts," he whispered, the shadows being his listener. "It hurts so much that I want to die. I'm so sorry, Lavi, I'm so sorry… This whole thing is my fault. I'm the problem. I'm…" He couldn't finish after that. He just sat there, quietly by himself and all of his depressing thoughts, and cried.

Lavi forced himself to try and sleep, even though the little sobs were unbearable to listen to. He did the right thing. In the end, emotions would be a huge problem and would be used against him. No attachments meant no sadness. He did the right thing.

Then how come he felt so horrible?

His left shoulder ached where a bruise was as he tried to get his thoughts under control. He was a future Bookman, a recorder of history. He was not a lover of Allen. No. That was not meant to happen. He bit his thumbnail to distract himself, his heart throbbing with irrational thoughts. Did he do the right thing? Was he truly questioning his own judgment? He grinded his teeth together uncontrollably. He didn't care. He didn't care. Allen wasn't more important than his goal, just a temporary friend.

Then again, would a 'temporary friend' risk their life to save him?

_Stop it. If I… I can't…_

"_Fallen One!"_

He blinked once, then saw the dead body of Allen he did in one of his earlier dreams. Only this time, there was no Level Four, there were no wings, there was no blood. All there was left was him holding a still-beating heart and a boy crying softly. A child's tears, lost in the cold of a storm. The heart came to a stop, its leathery texture melting away into a pile of gunk.

_Allen? _The picture faded, and all that was left was him and the dark. No one else was there, he was alone, as it should have been. Alone.

_No. Stop it. Stop it…! I can't— If I— If he— I can't love him ba—!_

"Lavi…"

He tore the blankets off of him, unable to take it anymore. The guilt was driving him mad, and he wasn't even supposed to feel guilt. It was a heavy emotion, one that he never wanted to feel again. He stumbled across the floor and wrapped his still-working arm around the boy, no longer caring. He didn't want to hear Allen cry anymore. It was the worst sound in the world. It was worse than Deke's persistent rambling, who was trying to get his head back together with his talks of his goal of becoming a Bookman. None of that mattered anymore.

The only thing that mattered right now was Allen.

"Lavi?" His voice was shaky, with good reason to be.

"Ssh." He rested his chin on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I rejected you without any consideration of how badly I hurt you. That was pretty dumb of me. I thought if I said all of that, you would hate me. Instead, I made you cry. I'm the worst."

"It's… fine," he replied, pushing him away. "You don't need to pity me. It's okay, I get it, you don't like me. I understand." He smiled a bittersweet smile that tore the apprentice Bookman in two. "I'll be fine. Go back to sleep. We've got a long day of traveling tomorrow, as you know." He rested his head on the wall. "Good night, Lavi."

"Allen—"

"Good night." It sounded final and declarative. Lavi stared at him for a few moments, then, after a moment's hesitation, picked the boy up and carried him back to the bed. The British Exorcist felt his eyes grow wide as the redhead laid beside him, wrapping his good arm around his waist.

"Good night, Allen."

"Wai— What are you doing?" His voice sounded more squeakier than normal. "I'm supposed to sleep on the floor, so let me sleep on the floor! Did I not just tell you that you didn't need to pity me and stuff? Lavi! What are you— _mmph!"_

He covered his mouth with his hand. "I'm not pitying you. I just realized what was actually important to me. Even if that does mean losing my dream, I don't care. I don't want to hear you cry or be sad anymore."

"Butf you sfaid earmfliarm…"

The redhead squeezed him closer, exhausted. He couldn't argue anymore, no matter what the given circumstance. Allen was still protesting in a confused manner, trying to break away from him. He liked it, yes, but he knew the truth. He knew from earlier how much he didn't like him, and now, out of the blue, he started cuddling him on a bed. Was it guilt? Did he hear him whisper to the shadows? If that were the case, then he made an awful mistake. Lavi didn't actually like him, he was filled with guilt to the point of which it made him think he liked him.

The situation was getting worse, not better.

"I'm sorry," he said again, which caught Lavi's attention. "I'm sorry if what I said made you feel bad. I know you're just doing this out of guilt. It's okay." He pushed himself away and got out of the bed, smiling in a sheepish manner. "It's okay. You don't have to go that far for my sake, if that's what you are doing."

The redhead sat up and frowned. "Allen, stop being ridiculous."

"No, _you _stop being ridiculous." He sat down on the floor near the door and sighed. "I know you'd rather go after Lenalee than me any day. I know you're a Bookman and that you're a 'recorder', like Rhode said. I know you don't love me. It's alright."

"You speak as if you know what I'm thinking."

"That's because you said it earlier." Allen rose to his feet and grabbed his bag. "I'll just have to deal with Komui later. I'm going to sleep in Lenalee's room. This is just too awkward for me right now."

"Allen, wait…"

The British teen glared. "I _did _wait. I waited through your little bet that wasn't even real. I played your game just for the sake of your entertainment. Here's a newsflash, Lavi: You could have _died_ out there and I would have never known. If you died, I would have waited forever, never knowing how you truly felt about me. And now you're telling me to wait again? No. No, I have a life to live, okay? I have people to save. If you're going to make go through another one of your games, then I might as well just get on with my life. I'm sick of waiting. Good-bye."

The redhead watched as he slammed the door behind him, walking down the hall with angry tears stinging at his eyes. It hurt to say that, but it was necessary. He didn't want his pity, he wanted his real love that wasn't there. Lavi didn't care about him, and that was fine. However, waiting around forever just to play his game was ridiculous. He loved him, but it was getting ridiculous.

He made his way down the hall, gritting his teeth on the way before arriving at Lenalee's door. He knocked cautiously and waited as Lenalee blinked and smiled. "Yes, Allen-kun—" Her smile changed into a look of concern immediately. "Allen-kun? Is something wrong? You look rather upset."

"Lenalee…" He stared at her for a moment as she closed the door and focused her attention onto him. His eyes watered until they overflowed. She hugged him tightly as the night continued on, the boat slowly rocking with the waves. She didn't ask him any questions, which was considerate of her, because he didn't feel like answering any. He just wanted to cry. Lenalee was good with that. She was like a mother he never had. "I'm… a fool," he whispered, then cried some more.

"It's okay," she said reassuringly, "it's okay. Everything will be okay."

…_I hope so… I hope she's right… Everything…_

_Everything will be okay…_

…_Right?_

~X~

Night came and went and the sun rose high above the clouds for hours before the landmass was finally in view. It took them a while before they made land onto the dock, which was covered with seaweed and barnacles. Lenalee hopped off first, followed by Allen, Kanda, and Lavi. The crewmen waved at them and they waved back, with the exception of Kanda, of course. After that, it was another train ride.

"…Che. I'm going to sleep when we get back."

"I knew you were going to say that." Lenalee smiled for a brief moment before glancing at the other two Exorcists. Allen's eyes were still partially swollen, though he was slightly glaring at the scenery. Lavi looked like his soul was sucked right out of him, as if he didn't get any sleep. The thought of him not sleeping was terrifying, considering how much he loved sleeping.

Kanda left the room once, saying something about being hungry, giving the Chinese girl to figure out what exactly was going on. The two hadn't even looked at each other since the mission. Quietly fuming, she grabbed each by the ear and tugged sharply.

"Ow!"

"Alright, you two," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "I know something's up. I know you know, Lavi, that Allen-kun likes you." He sheepishly grinned in an annoyed manner while looking away. "And I have a feeling, considering the way you cried last night—" The British boy cringed at the sound of his own weakness. "—that you were rejected. Am I wrong?"

They were engulfed in silence as she tapped her finger to her chin repeatedly, waiting for an answer. When neither spoke, she sighed. "I take that as a yes, then. I can see how awkward it is for both of you, but Lavi, you look like you're losing sleep, and Allen-kun, you aren't even talking anymore. Would someone like to explain to me what your true feelings about this is?"

At first, neither of them spoke. She sighed angrily. "You guys…"

"I don't want to talk about it," Allen whispered.

"…It's really none of your business. It's between us, not you." Lavi messed with his bandana out of slight irritation. "So just lay off."

"You're both miserable, though!" She threw her hands up in the air out of exasperation. "Look at each other. Just once, just look!"

They didn't. Instead, they continued to look separate ways.

"You guys…" She frowned as Kanda came in, scowling as always. She fell silent as the man sat down across from Allen, scribbling down a report.

_You both look… terrible. I've never seen you both so upset. _She glanced between the two out of concern. _Allen-kun… Lavi… It's like you two never came back. _

_Are you even the same people I know and love anymore?_

~X~

Nope! Not the end! Hah… Joy. One, maybe two or three chapters more. Dang, it'll be as long as my first fic, then. XD Anyways! So! Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! It'll be greatly appreciated! See you in 19! —Mr. Ree


	19. Linked

Whoa. I re-read this story and thought to myself, "When the hell am I gonna finish this?" and "Wow, my writing really sucked back then, but at least I learned something". Sorry for the incredibly way-too-long wait! Mr. Ree here, and welcome, at long last, to the final chapter of 'Linked'! Compared to my new stuff, this is okay, but the concept was nice. This is short, FYI. Thank you for reading it and waiting! You're all gonna hate me by the end of it, but hey! So! Let us commence forthwith with the final chapter of 'Linked'!

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man is property of Katsura Hoshino and Funimation. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? Damn well better.

~X~

19. Linked

Six days since the mission passed, and the Innocence, recovered. The memories of Carroll and his bitter insanity, along with the woman who made crazy dolls, were all but forgotten. Lavi was immediately admitted to the hospital wing for the sake of his arm and various other injuries. Kanda, in all his pissed-off ways, sulked off in his room or the training floor, while Lenalee resumed to serving coffee to her brother. Nothing seemed right with her, though, as she sometimes glanced at Allen with concern. When she visited Lavi, she often bit back her tongue from saying something rather offensive. However, she remained chipper for the sake of her brother.

Allen, on the other hand, was not the same. Whenever he ate, he sometimes gazed out into the distance and refused to talk to anyone. The amount he did eat dwindled to a few crackers and cheese. He kept himself in his room all the time, and when he did come out, he always asked Kanda for a fight without provoking the Japanese man first. After he often lost, he would go back to his room for the rest of the day. No one knew what he did in there, but even Johnny, who was supposed to take measurements for the new uniforms, wasn't allowed into his room.

"…You mean he really won't talk to anyone?"

"No." Lenalee shook her head out of worry. The smells of blood and cleaning fluids did not make for a pleasant stench within the wing, but she stayed by Lavi's side all the same. "He won't even eat," she added, then stared down at her hands. "Lavi, I'm worried. What if he needs us but won't let us in?"

He stared at her for a moment before sighing. "Want me to talk to him?"

"No!" It was too late to stop herself when she said it. Her eyes widened, her hands covering her mouth, as the redhead stared at her out of confusion. "I mean, I don't think it would make any difference. And you're still recovering. How is your arm, by the way?"

"Still numb, but Matron says that it'll fully heal," he said, though his tone dropped to sadness quickly. His mouth opened, but no words came out. He tried again. "Lenalee, why don't you want me to see the bean sprout?"

He gave her a moment as he watched the courage build up inside her small body. Her hands formed fists on her skirt, her leg bouncing without any regard of how annoying it was. She exhaled slowly before answering. "You're just going to hurt him more if you go to talk to him. At least, that's how I see it."

"At least you're honest." He chuckled, but it wasn't friendly. "I know that, Lenalee, though I think it's me who he wants to talk to."

She nodded. "Do you want help sneaking out?"

"What?"

She only smiled at him. "I want Allen-kun better as soon as possible, and if you think you are the solution to the problem, then you have to do it now. Otherwise, we really are just letting him down, you know?"

_Letting him down. I already did that. What's a second time gonna do? Make him commit suicide? No, wait, bad Lavi! _He slapped himself inside his head before nodding at her. "Okay."

"Great. Now let me just go talk to Matron."

~X~

After a few suggestive hints about the possibility of her brother suffering a caffeine overdose (which, in fact, was true), Lenalee snuck the paralyzed redhead out of the hospital wing. Reever nodded at her and gave a confused glance at Lavi, but didn't call them out. He had too many papers to fill out because his boss was too lazy to do it himself.

"You go on ahead," she whispered as they passed the dining hall, "and I'll keep Matron distracted. I reckon you have about twenty minutes or so if I play my cards right. Go!"

He nodded, mouthing a word of thanks before running down the stone corridors with bare feet. It felt good to touch, and it felt even better to be running again. He hurried up the stairs and down the hall, remembering where Allen's room was. He panted and caught his breath outside the wooden door, hating how steep the stairs were, and paused. A deep feeling of regret settled in his stomach, his fingers trembling with slight anticipation of the worst to come. He was mad at him, so what made him think that he was going to open the door for him?

"_Fallen One!"_

He grimaced. He betrayed his friend by giving him false hope, and that was the equivalent of betraying God, in his mind. He really was a Fallen One. Carroll's words were true, after all. However, there was a practice known as forgiveness, so he hoped, at the very least, that the bean sprout would give him a second chance. He nodded to himself. If all else failed, he would just forget about saving what little remnants of their friendship they had left.

He knocked on the door once, and immediately he knew it was a bad idea, but his non-paralyzed hand wouldn't stop until all three knocks were completed. They resonated hard against the wood, making him cringe inside.

He waited.

No answer.

"Allen?" He knocked again, a little faster this time. His knuckles popped because of the quickness, but he ignored it. "Allen, are you in here?"

No answer. He thought about trying a third time, but he refrained and began walking away. There was no point in hanging around if no one was going to answer him. He stopped when he heard a creak of wood and a small voice saying, "You can come in."

He turned, though all he saw of Allen was a wisp of white hair ducking back into his room. The door was left ajar, compelling him to follow the specter, and stepped into the darkened room.

The bed was stripped of all covers. Feathers scattered all over the floor. Torn fabric rested as if it just experienced a world war between the clothes in the corner and lost, its edges fraying. Paper with ink stains that formed incoherent words helped the feathers make the disastrous rug. He hesitated before taking a step forward, the sound of crinkling paper catching his attention, but he didn't look down. Instead, he closed the door behind him as Allen sat still on the mattress, his eyes staring at the floor.

"Lenalee's worried," Lavi said after a long moment of silence. "She says you're not eating properly for a parasitic-type. She asked me to come and talk to you." He studied his friend's expression before continuing. "Allen, listen. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that to you. It was an ass hole move, and I should've told you right off the bat. I just hope that you'll—"

"If you apologize, I'll regret going after you in the first place," Allen interjected.

He stopped himself from finishing the sentence and stared down at the floor. A paper with the words "Why me?" transfixed his sight, followed by a sporadic ink stain.

"_We aren't just ink on paper!"_

"You've already been forgiven," he continued, breaking the apprentice Bookman's thoughts. "I know what you are going to become. It's okay." He looked up at him from his personal Hell and smiled. "It's okay, Lavi."

"How can you just say that?" He broke off the steady gaze and glared at the papers mocking him. "Didn't I hurt your feelings? How are you not mad?"

"Because I love you."

The redhead sighed heavily.

"I don't expect the same from you, but it's the truth."

"Allen—"

"I'm fine," he interrupted. "It's just, you know, you start hoping like that and think maybe, just maybe…" He trailed off, staring at the picture on the opposite wall, then sighed. "False hope is terrible," he finished, then smiled up at him. "But it's okay."

"It's not okay!" He punched the mattress underneath them, his paralyzed hand jumping limply as a result. "Fucking hell, why aren't you going to yell at me? I fucking deserve it, don't I? Yell! Tell me that I'm a horrible human being or something, but don't just sit there and tell me everything's fine when you're clearly not fine! You're not eating and you look like you haven't been sleeping, and this room, this mess! How the hell is all of this 'fine', Allen! Explain it to me!"

"You think you deserve blame?" He only shook his head. "It's my fault we're in this mess to begin with. I should be settled with it. I dragged you into this, and you know it."

"But I—"

"Lavi."

There was no arguing with that tone. His rants that formed in his throat died by the time they reached his mouth, only air blowing through his teeth. He stared at him for the longest time, trying to find some sort of weakness, some sort of fault in his argument to prove him wrong, but there was nothing. No twitching, no fake smiling, no anxiousness, nothing. Everything Allen said he believed to be true. He was taking all the blame, even worse than he was.

"I'm so horrible," he muttered, then got a whack to the back of the head.

"Stop that. I'll be forced to resort to violence."

"You? Violence? In the same sentence? What, are you going to join the Earl, too, or what?"

Allen only laughed. It sounded better, sounded normal, sounded like him. The pity seemed to evaporate with it, along with the self-hatred and any other emotion that didn't belong there. Carroll's words, Lenalee's words in Rhode's world, everything. All was good, even if it was just for a few seconds. "Yeah, that's what Kanda thinks, until I beat him up."

"Last time I checked, Yuu-chan owned _you_, not the other way around."

"H-Hey! You don't need to tel— Stop laughing! I'm warning you, I will hurt you!"

"You, trying to be dangerous… Hah!"

"Do you _want_ me to deal out a deck of cards?"

"I know for a fact you cheat. Count me out."

"What if I lied?"

"You don't lie, Allen. Besides, I could tell if you lied." He grinned. "You're like an open book."

"Hah, good one."

Silence enveloped the room, the two staring at their hands. Neither of them moved. The lack of tension was relieving, but now what? Allen side-glanced over to the redhead, who was chewing on his lower lip. "Uh, Lavi," he started, then frowned. "Uh… Never mind."

"No, what is it?"

He sighed. "I was just wondering… could we still be… still be… friends? Even though you're a Bookman and I'm an Exorcist?"

Lavi nodded. "Of course! Just don't try to do anything funny, alright?"

"Hah, I won't. Or, at least, not when you're awake."

"That's not funny."

"I know, I know. Hug?"

He stared at the younger teen, whose arms were spread open wide and grinned slightly, hugging him with his movable hand. They stayed that way for about a minute, not moving or even breathing, until Allen pushed him away and smiled.

"You should probably get going. I can hear the Matron yelling from here."

"Aw, shit, really?" He jumped up to his feet, looking around when he heard her booming and irritated voice. "Damn, Lenalee! You said twenty minutes!"

"It's been longer than that. More like an hour."

"What? Shit!" He headed towards the door and paused, turning behind him and grinning. "I'm glad," he said, "that you forgave me. I promise, as your friend, that I'll never do it again, okay?"

"Okay. Just hurry up and go before she starts tearing the place apart!"

"Gotcha, pal," he said, then ducked out the door hastily, closing it behind him.

Allen sat there and stared at the door for the longest time, listening to the Matron berating him about sneaking off while being injured. He only shook his head, listening to the idiotic redhead apologize profusely. Even injured, he was still hyperactive, as always.

"_Allen…"_

He frowned, a pulse beating in his head, his breathing turning to sharp, heavy gasps. He stood up and started to pick up the scattered papers off the floor when he turned to the window. The shadow nearly consumed him. He thought maybe, just maybe, if he stopped thinking about it for a while, it would bother him less. Instead, it did the opposite.

"_Allen… you thought that… would break our link?"_

"Shut up."

"_You're me… no matter what… and bound, for eternity…"_

"Shut up!"

"_Linked," _the shadow, whispered slowly. _"Linked. For eternity."_

He grimaced as he slammed the papers down onto the table beside the bed, staring at the shadow hovering in his reflection. He frowned as his body trembled out of foreshadowing, his eyes twitching. Under the mess was a new mission to Jordan that he was expected to go to soon. He stared at the details for the longest time before tossing it aside, staring at his reflection in the window once more.

_Lavi. I trust you with all my heart that when the time comes, you'll kill me. _He walked over to the mirror and touched the glass, the cold making his fingertips shudder_. I love you, so please, even if you only see me as a friend; please kill me when the time comes. I cannot stop him that much longer._

_We're linked forever, he and I, and only you can severe it. _

_I trust in you, friend._

~END~

Last time. So! Did you like it? Hate it (expecting this one)? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! It will be greatly appreciated! Thank you all for your reviews and patience and favorites and alerts! I hope to see you again in other works, which would be really freaking cool. Speaking of which, a Miranda one is working inside my head… Hint! We hope to see you again!

—Mr. Ree & Mr. Meenor


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